The Formula 1 seat that Lewis Hamilton will be leaving behind when he leaves Mercedes for Ferrari at the end of 2024 is possibly the most sought-after spot that has been freely available for a number of seasons.
When Hamilton’s transfer was initially revealed, the seat was already a desirable one, but as the season has gone on and the many world champions have progressively improved their performances, it may have only grown in value.
There are presently five drivers on the grid without a definite seat for the upcoming season: Valtteri Bottas, Kevin Magnussen, Daniel Ricciardo, Logan Sargeant, and Zhou Guanyu. Haas has confirmed that Esteban Ocon will join them for 2025. All of them are viable choices, but there are a ton of other drivers who aren’t currently on the grid who would be more appealing.
Mercedes intends to remain a strong contender for both championship championships well into 2025, if not beyond. That implies that the person they select will need to possess the ability and fortitude to contend with the top athletes in the sport at the front of the field. versus teams like McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull, and even George Russell in the second Mercedes.
It’s time to voice your opinion on who you would offer the spare Mercedes seat to in 2025, even if team principal Toto Wolff’s statements and actions thus far this year seem to point to a single driver who seems to be the obvious favorite for the position. But before, a brief glance at every possible choice…
The seasoned drivers
Three of the grid’s most seasoned drivers still haven’t locked up a spot for 2025. Among them, Bottas appears to be the most fitting, having competed with Mercedes for five seasons in a row from 2017 to 2021, winning the constructors’ championship each time. Even while the pressure of being a Mercedes factory driver seemed to wear off with time, Bottas shown that he was more than capable of defeating the best in the field on his day, albeit not being on the same level as Hamilton.
The only other grand prix winner in the field whose future is not yet assured is Ricciardo. Even yet, he would also offer a wealth of front-row battling experience, having competed against none other than teammate Max Verstappen during his Red Bull years. Although Ricciardo hasn’t yet persuaded Red Bull to bench Sergio Perez in favor of him, it’s unlikely Mercedes would give him any thought given his recent struggles to reach the high level he reached about ten years ago.
Magnussen is the company’s last seasoned driver, but considering how frequently teammate Nico Hulkenberg has outscored him at Haas during their time together, it’s hardly a convincing argument for any team, much less one as elite as Mercedes, to choose to bring him on board for 2025. That leaves Zhou and Sargeant, the two youngest drivers, but neither has shown any very noteworthy traits this season that would indicate they should be in this position.
Mercedes, like all of their primary competitors, develops talent through junior formulae. However, they also have certain possibilities that already offer services of an F1 caliber.
One of Mercedes’ two backup drivers, Frederik Vesti, was the F2 runner-up last year and has been a junior driver for the team for a number of years. Along with his accomplishments in endurance racing, Vesti continues to work for the team and has already participated in Friday practice sessions and the post-season young drivers test in 2022. With two seasons of experience as a racer with Haas, albeit the second was, to put it mildly, turbulent, Mercedes also has a second reserve in Mick Schumacher.
However, Mercedes also fields 17-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli, one of the most promising young drivers in the Formula 2 championship. In the short time that Antonelli has been away from karting, he has won multiple single-seater titles, earning him praise as a possible generational youthful talent to rival that of Hamilton himself. Even though Antonelli’s F2 season has been difficult with Prema, he has silenced his doubters with two race victories in the previous three races.
Two additional former Mercedes associates may also be worth considering in addition to these three young drivers. Mercedes is well-acquainted with Nyck de Vries, another seasoned driver. Despite having a stellar resume, the Formula E world champion from 2021 and the Formula 2 champion from 2019 did not get the desired outcome during his half-season with AlphaTauri in 2023, nor did Red Bull. Not exactly the greatest justification for a Mercedes factory drive.
Paul Aron represents the second option. Aron, the driver for Hitech who has topped the F2 standings in his debut season, is not currently associated with an F1 team. However, he was a member of the Mercedes youth program until the conclusion of the previous season. Aron has impressed many with what he has accomplished in his debut season in the series, especially against extremely highly regarded opponents, despite the fact that he has yet to win a race this year.
There are two other plausible choices, although their experience and plausibility differ quite a little.
Theo Pourchaire, the current F2 champion, is the first. Pourchaire, a driver linked with Sauber, feels he should have a chance to compete in Formula 1, even though Hamilton’s Mercedes slot may be too much to ask for. Nonetheless, he has performed admirably for McLaren this season when given the opportunity to compete in IndyCar races.
The last possibility, Max Verstappen, appears the least likely of them, but if it happened, it would have the most impact.