Replacing Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes is very appealing for ‘annoyingly good’ F1 driver

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Sebastian Vettel could now imagine returning to Formula 1 to replace Lewis Hamilton in 2025 after the Mercedes driver’s decision to move to Ferrari at the end of this year.

The driver market was already set to be massive with half of the F1 grid out of contract after 2024. But Hamilton and Ferrari have fired it into overdrive with the 39-year-old’s decision to quit Mercedes and replace Carlos Sainz. He will join Charles Leclerc racing in red from 2025.

Brackley bosses have already identified several potential drivers to take over Hamilton’s seat beside George Russell next year. Sky Germany has even cited Vettel as a candidate to take over their vacancy. He is still on the market after leaving Aston Martin after the 2022 season.

Replacing Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes is ‘very attractive’ for Sebastian Vettel

Now, F1 Insider has doubled down on Vettel replacing Hamilton, stating that the 36-year-old ‘can certainly imagine’ returning to F1 in the same style as his idol Michael Schumacher. The seven-time champion re-joined the grid in 2010 after initially retiring with Ferrari after 2006.

Schumacher enjoyed three extra seasons in the pinnacle of motorsport for Mercedes before Hamilton replaced the German in 2013. Now, taking over Hamilton’s seat in Brackley is ‘very attractive’ for Vettel, who left Aston Martin owing to the Silverstone natives’ want of results.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff already shares an excellent relationship with Vettel on a personal level. The pair even spoke before the Silver Arrows announced Hamilton’s decision to join Ferrari. But Wolff and Vettel did not mention Mercedes’ soon-to-be vacant seat then.

Sebastian Vettel has claimed the fourth-most Grand Prix wins in F1’s history

Signing Vettel would afford Mercedes a premier-class F1 driver to replace Hamilton when he moves to Ferrari in 2025. The German is a four-time drivers’ champion and also ranks fourth for Grand Prix wins (53). Max Verstappen (54) just edged Vettel out of the top three in 2023.

Only seven-time F1 champions Hamilton (103) and Schumacher (91) have won considerably more Grand Prix than Vettel. He is also fourth for pole positions (57) behind Hamilton (104), Schumacher (68) and Ayrton Senna (65). Three-time champion Verstappen has secured 32.

Vettel secured his most recent pole position at the 2019 Japanese GP and his last win at the 2019 Singapore GP whilst driving for Ferrari. He further took 44 of his pole positions and 38 of his wins for Red Bull between 2009 and 2014, which led to titles in 2010, ‘11, ‘12 and ‘13.

Even though his time as a Grand Prix winner finished after leaving Ferrari for Aston Martin in 2021, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner called Vettel ‘annoyingly good’ at anything he tries after the Heppenheim native decided to leave Formula 1 following the 2022 campaign.