Danner: Bottas was deliberately returned to Mercedes.

      Christian Danner, a former Formula 1 racer and now an expert at the Austrian edition of Motorsport Magazin, believes that Mercedes is ready to replace Andrea Kimi Antonelli with Valtteri Bottas during the season if the 18-year-old Italian racer cannot quickly get used to driving the W16.

      Christian Danner: "Antonelli's invitation to Mercedes was, of course, a surprise. But will their solution work? Everyone is saying what a great decision this is, what a talent Kimi has, and that he will finally be able to compete with George Russell.

      But it may turn out that he will not only demonstrate high speed, but also often smash cars. He has already done this not only in training at Monza, but also in tests. That's why I think they deliberately brought Bottas back, making him the third driver.

      Mercedes definitely has a "plan B" in case it turns out that Antonelli needs a lot of time to adapt. But Kimi is fast, so he can do it."