Lewis Hamilton’s sensational decision to snub Mercedes for Ferrari in 2025 is likely to have a ripple effect as this season progresses. Since more than half of the drivers on the 2024 grid will run out of their contract at the end of the year, there is likely to be a lot of movement during the silly season. Amid this chaos, McLaren’s the only team that seems to have their line-up sorted with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Since there is chaos expected this year, Sky Sports’ Craig Slater asked McLaren CEO Zak Brown whether his side extended Norris’ contract recently because of the fear that Mercedes will poach him once they received the information that Hamilton will sign for Ferrari.
In reply, Brown said, “We were aware that there was potentially some movement, but that didn’t really have anything to do with Lando. We’d signed him up previously. We were just waiting for him to get back to actually make the announcement“.
After stating the same, Brown went to the extent of suggesting that Norris was perhaps a more sought-after driver than even seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton. “Lando’s top of everybody’s list and ours included,” Brown added. Consequently, McLaren’s top priority was to ensure that they extended the 24-year-old’s contract as soon as possible.
With Norris now having signed a new deal with McLaren, the options for Mercedes are decreasing by the day. Toto Wolff and the rest of the team are likely to have a tough time over the next few months to find a strong replacement for arguably one of the greatest drivers of all time.
However, their first priority in 2024 will be to have as strong of a season as possible. Mercedes launched their car on February 14 and it seemed like a grand success.
Mercedes have made radical changes to their 2024 car
Toto Wolff and Mercedes seem to have stuck to their promises by introducing radical changes to the 2024 car. During their car launch, the Austrian explained how his side looks to recover from the pain of the previous two campaigns.
Although Wolff is well aware of the challenge Mercedes have had to close the gap to the mighty Red Bull, he seems optimistic about his side’s chances going into 2024. “We have a superb driver combination, hopefully a fast car and I think there are some very good ingredients to be back at the front again,” he explained (as quoted by bbc.com).
Mercedes’ launch is likely to have grabbed several eyeballs among the current drivers because this is one of the teams that has a seat vacant for 2025, with Lewis Hamilton set to leave and join Ferrari. One of the drivers who is reported to have an interest in joining the Silver Arrows is double-world champion Fernando Alonso.
The Spaniard had an outstanding 2023 campaign with Aston Martin as he secured eight podiums with the team. Following such an impressive display, the 42-year-old has made it clear that his priority is to remain at Aston Martin.
However, he did provide a glimmer of hope to Mercedes fans when he stated that his future will depend upon how the contract negotiations turn out with the Silverstone-based team. He stated that in case things do not work out with Aston Martin, he will look for alternative options.
