55-race winner now ‘hottest candidate’ to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes in 2025

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The Formula 1 driver market could be sent into overdrive this year with one report now suggesting that Max Verstappen is the ‘hottest candidate’ to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes in 2025.

The three-time world champion got the 2024 season off to the perfect start, taking pole position, leading every lap, securing the fastest lap and winning the race.

However, a report from German outlet Auto Motor und Sport suggests that this could be Max Verstappen’s final season with the team.

Verstappen now ‘hottest candidate’ to drive for Mercedes in 2025

Formula 1 has already seen one of the biggest moves between teams in the sport’s history this year.

Lewis Hamilton’s announcement that he’ll be driving for Ferrari in 2025 has left Carlos Sainz without a seat and a dozen drivers wondering if they could drive for Mercedes next year.

Toto Wolff will have his choice of the best drivers around to partner with George Russell.

The Brit drove brilliantly in Bahrain, qualifying ahead of Sergio Perez and Sainz and finishing as the best of the rest behind the Red Bulls and Ferraris.

One man viewers on television barely saw was Max Verstappen.

He took a defensive line into turn one before accelerating away never to be seen again by his rivals.

But things aren’t as comfortable off the track as they are on it right now at Red Bull.

This means that Verstappen is now the ‘hottest candidate’ to drive for Mercedes in 2025.

It would be bizarre to see him not in a Red Bull racing suit in the future but that’s now reportedly a possibility.

Formula 1 grid could be turned upside-down by Verstappen move

The report from Auto Motor und Sport says because Hamilton’s move to Ferrari has left a vacancy at Mercedes, the ‘hottest candidate’ is currently the 26-year-old Dutchman.

They go on to say that although it sounds ‘very unlikely’ right now, things going on behind the scenes at Red Bull are starting to have an effect.

He currently has a contract until 2028, but as Hamilton has shown, plenty of Formula 1 agreements have break clauses.

If Mercedes decide Verstappen is the right candidate to replace Hamilton in 2025, you sense they’ll still face a massive battle to sign him.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has explained that ‘anything is possible’ in Formula 1 when asked about Verstappen.

If he does make the ground breaking move down the pit lane to drive in silver next season, there might be a few drivers elsewhere regretting signing contracts at their current teams for the future.