‘Extraordinary’ driver and two-time race winner ‘unlikely’ to replace Hamilton at Mercedes

Follow us on Google Discover

The race to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes in 2025 will be fascinating this year; two potential candidates are Carlos Sainz and Alexander Albon.

The seven-time world champion shocked the world of Formula 1 at the start of February by announcing he’ll be driving for Ferrari in 2025.

A report from The Race has shared an update on who is leading the fight to step into his seat next year.

Sainz and Albon ‘unlikely’ to replace Hamilton at Mercedes

The talk about who will replace Lewis Hamilton is going to rumble on for a long time in 2024.

It doesn’t appear as though Toto Wolff is in any rush to replace his star driver and the focus is more likely to be on seeing how George Russell copes with slowly taking over the leadership of the team.

Finding the right driver to partner with Russell won’t be an easy task but Mercedes aren’t short of options.

Fernando Alonso is on their list but despite his desire to continue racing forever, would likely be a short-term option.

That would open the way for Andrea Kimi Antonelli to join Russell although he may end up being on the grid sooner rather than later.

It means that Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon – who are both on the lookout for better drives in 2025 – are unlikely to be serious options for Mercedes.

Sainz is driving to stay in F1 after losing his seat to Hamilton and is unlikely to be short of options.

Meanwhile, Albon won’t want to waste his best years in F1 at Williams if they’re not challenging at the front of the grid but already opportunities to move further up the grid are starting to look limited.

Mercedes have big call to make ahead of the 2025 season

The report from The Race suggests it’s ‘unlikely’ that Albon or Sainz would be slotted in alongside Russell at Mercedes next year.

The Brit is still their ‘long-term’ hope, even if the ‘extraordinary’ Albon has a great relationship with Russell having risen through the ranks together.

So much is being made of the potential of Antonelli before he’s even raced in Formula 2 for the first time.

If he doesn’t like up to the justifiable hype around him, then Mercedes may have to revisit some more experienced options.