F1: Verstappen & Russell To Be Mercedes Pair For 2022? 

McLaren racing boss Zak Brown has made a bold prediction for 2022 which could potentially shake up the drivers market massively. Zak Brown has said that he believes that Max Verstappen and George Russell will be the new driver pair for the silver arrows next year in the case Lewis Hamilton is able to secure the record-breaking 8th world title in 2021. 

Verstappen won the last race of the 2020 season and he is tipped to be one of the favourites for the 2021 season 

"I think you will see Max and George there in 2022. I think that is the obvious conclusion. Lewis wins title No 8 this year and is the winningest driver (most successful) in every category; they have a one-year deal with him. George is coming out of his deal and Max has a deal he comes out of", Brown explained to the Daily Mail.

Brown of course is alluding to the fact that Hamilton just has a one year contract with Mercedes in 2021 and he has interests outside of F1. The Briton is also 36 years old already and will be 37 in 2022. At the same time, Valtteri Bottas, Hamilton's teammate also is out of a contract next year. 

George Russell replaced Lewis Hamilton when he was down with COVID 19 and almost won the race 

Max Verstappen is tied to Red Bull on a long term contract but he has a performance clause that reportedly allows him to exit the contract with the car isn't fast enough. While Verstappen joining Mercedes is predicated on Hamilton either not renewing his contract or retiring, Russell has a more sure shot chance of joining the Mercedes team in the case Bottas isn't able to improve his competitiveness in 2021.