Lewis Hamilton surprised F1 fans around the world when he announced his shock move to Ferrari in 2025. Ever since his announcement, the focus has been on Mercedes and who will they name as the seven-time champion’s replacement. One name that has emerged is Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso. Amid rumors that the Spaniard could jump ship to Brackley, Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack has revealed that his side will do everything they can to convince the 42-year-old to stay.
Speedweek.com quoted Krack as saying, “Ultimately it’s very simple – Fernando has to figure out what he really wants. We made our position clear to him: We want him to compete for us beyond 2024. If we want to keep Alonso, we have to give him a good car. He has to believe in us. Everything else can be taken care of. But we will do everything we can to ensure that Alonso remains an Aston Martin driver.”
Alonso is currently in the last year of his Aston Martin contract and could leave the team if he does not see signs of progress. If Krack wants Alonso to stay put at Silverstone, he will need to prove to the double world champion that the Aston Martin project is in better shape than that of Mercedes’.
If Krack is able to accomplish his mission, it wouldn’t be the end of the world for Mercedes either. As things stand, Alonso is one among many options that Toto Wolff is considering for 2025 and beyond.
Who else is Mercedes considering apart from Fernando Alonso?
One driver whose name has cropped up constantly in the discussions as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement is 17-year-old F2 sensation Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The Italian has been so impressive in his junior career that he got a straight jump to F2 after his FRECA triumph last year. Moreover, he’s a Mercedes academy driver and has Toto Wolff’s attention.
That being said, his relative inexperience has been cited by many as a reason why Wolff would not gamble on him just yet. It is in this context that Fernando Alonso’s name cropped up in the first place.
Many experts believe that the Spaniard could be the perfect ‘stop-gap‘ solution while Antonelli gains the required experience and confidence to jump in and take over the reins at the team. Wolff too has kept the door open for a medium to long-term replacement.
According to the Austrian, both Mick Schumacher (who is racing for Alpine in the World Endurance Championship this year) and Frederik Vesti (2023 F2 runner-up) are contenders for that 2025 race seat. Furthermore, even Esteban Ocon has thrown his hat into the equation after citing his Mercedes links.
