Mercedes chief jokes his team would be ‘delighted’ if they hired 29-year-old driver

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Mercedes communications director Bradley Lord has joked that his team would love it if they hire Ferrari duo Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc.

The Formula 1 driver market is an incredibly competitive business although when Williams confirmed Logan Sargeant last week, every driver from the end of last season retained their place on the grid.

Lord was speaking on The Fast and The Curious Podcast and being quizzed about his dream driver line-up.

Mercedes aren’t going to be thinking about making any changes for some time.

Earlier this season, they confirmed that both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell would be with the team until the end of 2025.

Despite the car not being up to scratch this year, Toto Wolff will be delighted with his pairing going forward.

Hamilton is an all-time great, while Russell is only 25 and has the potential to improve for years to come.

However, Bradley Lord was asked if he had to choose another driver on the grid to hire outside of Mercedes, and he chose Carlos Sainz and his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc.

The pair are undoubtedly two of the fastest drivers on the grid, although the tongue-in-cheek comment may have been made for another reason.

Mercedes chief jokes he would hire Leclerc and Sainz

Host Greg James couldn’t help asking a cheeky question and said: “I wonder, I just want to be sneaky, you’ve got to pick one driver to be a Mercedes driver, who are you picking?”

Lord was reluctant to reply but eventually answered: “That’s a really mean question. I work with a lot of people who would be delighted to see either Charles [Leclerc] or Carlos [Sainz] in the car.

“Possibly more for aesthetic reasons than their driving! So, I might stick with that and make my team members happy.”

While Mercedes are unlikely to be in any rush to hire Sainz or Leclerc, the pair’s futures at Ferrari appear to be at a crossroads.

The Italian team are keen to tie down Leclerc to a long-term deal that would see him driving the famous red car until 2029.

Sainz, on the other hand, wants to continue with Ferrari, but they’re thinking about other options on the grid going into 2025.