Lewis Hamilton’s departure to Ferrari in 2025 will leave a significant void at Mercedes. The Silver Arrows are now in the hunt to find a replacement for the seven-time world champion. While some reports claim that F2 star Andrea Kimi Antonelli is the perfect fit for the team, Ted Kravitz has recently come up with a different perspective. According to the Sky Sports analyst, Mercedes should go ahead with ‘Plan B’.
As per the F1 expert, “Alonso is a very good shout. Just replacing like for like. A guy who’s nearing the end of his career but could have as much as two or three years left at the top of his game”.
During the same conversation, Kravitz did admit that Kimi Antonelli is also a viable option to replace Hamilton. However, the expert believes that Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff will not want to give the 17-year-old an opportunity in F1 as early as next year.
Instead, Kravitz believes that the Silver Arrows may prefer to nurture the Italian, who has the potential to be the next Max Verstappen or Charles Leclerc. The reason Kravitz believes that Alonso should be the top choice for Mercedes is because of the similarities he shares with Hamilton.
Both Hamilton and Alonso are multi-time champions, and have years of experience driving at the highest level. Moreover, age also does not seem to be a concern for Alonso at the moment as the 42-year-old delivered some outstanding performances with Aston Martin last season by grabbing eight podiums.
Why should Fernando Alonso be Mercedes’ top choice to replace Lewis Hamilton?
Fernando Alonso has competed in F1 for over two decades now. During this time, he has won two world championships with Renault (now Alpine) and bagged 32 Grand Prix wins. Currently, the Spanish driver is under contract with Aston Martin, with whom his contract expires in 2024.
Amidst this, one may wonder what Alonso believes about his future in F1. In response to the query, the Spaniard himself stated that he would prioritize sticking with the Silverstone-based outfit. However, if his contract negotiations fail to materialize, Alonso is well aware that other teams would be interested in signing him.
While speaking about it, Alonso confidently said, “There are only three world champions on the grid and I am the only one available for 2025, so I am in a good position.” Subsequently, speaking of his conversations with Mercedes about the possibility of replacing Lewis Hamilton, Alonso asserted that he hadn’t spoken with them yet.
Towards the end, the #14 driver said he didn’t want to continue in F1 just for “fun“. The reason for this is that he isn’t that kind of driver or person. So, according to Alonso, he will wait for the appropriate moment to consider his alternatives.
