When Lewis Hamilton announced his future move to Ferrari, almost every driver on and beyond the grid started getting linked with the soon-to-be vacant Mercedes seat. Early into the silly season, Sebastian Vettel has now become a surprising addition to this list. The 4x champion admitted to the media he’s been following the sport and is open to making a return. He expressed this desire while discussing the Mercedes option. However, the question remains if the Brackley-based outfit also feels the same way about him.
Perhaps not the entire team but at least Lewis Hamilton does want to see Vettel replace him. Hamilton and Vettel share an old friendship, stemming from on-track rivalry. Their off-track activities increased the mutual respect they had for one another and ahead of the 2024 Japanese GP, Hamilton confessed (as reported by The Guardian), “I would love for Seb to come back. He would be an amazing option for the team.”
However, the Mercedes boss does not feel the same way. The German is not in Toto Wolff’s plans as reported by the news outlet Bild. According to the report, Vettel is not in the running for the Mercedes seat and is nowhere in their plans at the moment. Wolff has his eyes set on three drivers at the moment. They are Max Verstappen, Fernando Alonso, and Kimi Antonelli, in no particular order.
It’s a three-man list with no space for Sebastian Vettel. However, out of the three, the most preferred replacement for the boss is reigning world champion Verstappen. As of now, the chances of signing Verstappen look slim, but not impossible. Even though Antonelli and Alonso are on the list, Wolff will be pushing for one driver.
Toto Wolff’s desire to sign Max Verstappen gets boosted
Filling the massive hole left by Hamilton’s departure from the team cannot be easy. However, Verstappen is more than capable of being the perfect replacement. The Mercedes boss has made it no secret that he wants to sign Verstappen. He was also seen chatting with his father Jos after the 2024 season opener in Bahrain.
Verstappen, too, is very well aware of Wolff’s desire to secure his services from 2025 onwards. When the Silver Arrows boss sounded confident of Verstappen winning his 4th title in a row, the latter jokingly stated that he noticed Wolff’s obsession with him.
“Lately Toto is being really nice.” #F1naSPORTTV #MaxVerstappen pic.twitter.com/3hFSo0CMdQ
— Chicane (@chicanept) April 7, 2024
Not many could’ve imagined a scenario like this, especially after the rivalry Verstappen shared with Toto Wolff and Mercedes in 2021. However, according to Verstappen, “That can all be forgiven and forgotten”.
The reason Verstappen to Mercedes is even a conversation is because of the internal drama and politics at Red Bull. So, if their power struggle does not die down in the coming months, Verstappen could choose to walk away, even though he is contracted to drive for the Milton-Keynes-based team till 2028.
