The joke was on the media, according to Toto Wolff. The Mercedes boss says his comments about potentially delaying a decision on Valtteri Bottas' future until next winter were "a wind up".
Wolff surprised the F1 media in France when he was asked when he expected to make a call on whether Bottas or George Russell would be racing with Mercedes in 2022.
The Austrian replied that he was in no rush to decide the Brackley squad's line-up for next season, adding that a final decision could come as late as early next year!
But a mischievous Wolff backtracked on those comments on Saturday at Paul Ricard.
"It was a wind-up," he said. "Because you get asked this question so often."
Addressing the topic more seriously, Wolff said: "Two drivers for one seat, two drivers that still can have a great career in Formula 1.
"I want to just see Valtteri’s full potential this year and continue to observe George driving for Williams and handling their situation."
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