Mercedes will have a seat vacant in 2025 as seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton will leave the team to join Ferrari. Although there are several drivers who are in the running for the seat, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has confirmed that Mick Schumacher is one of the top candidates.
Wolff, via The Fast and The Curious podcast, said, “We gotta find out what is it we gonna do in mid to long term with Fred [Frederik Vesti] and Mick [Mick Schumacher]. And some of the other potential contenders for the seat and that’s something we are not gonna rush into, [we’ll] properly look and evaluate“.
Both Schumacher and Vesti have had previous connections with Mercedes. While Vesti is currently Mercedes’ junior driver, Schumacher had the duty of a reserved driver last season. Both drivers are now getting ready to compete in their respective racing categories in 2024.
Vesti is all set to compete in the 2024 Europe Le Mans Series with Cool Racing. He previously raced in F2 with Prema Racing, where he finished runner-up. Moreover, he also won the Formula Regional European Championship in 2018. On the other hand, Schumacher will compete in the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship with Alpine.
Fernando Alonso is also one of the candidates for the Mercedes seat
Apart from Mick Schumacher and Frederik Vesti, a few other names that have been mentioned are Carlos Sainz, Alex Albon, Kimi Antonelli, and Fernando Alonso. Alonso, being a two-time world champion and a proven race winner, is likely to be one of the top candidates to replace Lewis Hamilton.
The Spanish driver is yet to renew his contract with Aston Martin which expires at the end of the 2024 season. Alonso impressed everyone with his performance in 2023 as he clinched eight podiums. Therefore, he would expect Aston Martin to provide him with a race-winning car in 2024. Otherwise, he may consider switching sides in 2025.
Meanwhile, another potential candidate that Mercedes could consider to replace Lewis Hamilton is Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The 17-year-old will race in F2 this year after having won the Formula Regional Middle East Championship and the Formula Regional European Championship last year with Prema Racing.
Since the Italian was so impressive, he will skip F3 altogether. The question that now arises is whether Mercedes are bold enough to sign such an inexperienced driver to replace Hamilton in 2025.
