Who could replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes?

Photo by Edmund So/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images

Alex Albon, Mick Schumacher among options to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes

If you are one of the Formula 1 fans who enjoy “silly season” as much — if not more — than the action on the track, then the 2023 season must have been a rather uninspiring affair for you. Not only was Max Verstappen dominating on the track, but when the dust settled at the end of the 2023 season, all 20 drivers were set to return for 2024, a first for the sport.

However, you are in luck dear reader, because the silly season is set to reach new heights this year.

Not only are 13 drivers on contracts set to expire at the end of 2024, but now one of the most-coveted seats in the sport is up for grabs for 2025. With the shocking news that Lewis Hamilton will leave Mercedes at the end of the season and drive for Ferrari in 2025, a spot with the Brackley-based operation is available.

Who are some of the options for Mercedes in 2025?

Photo by Qian Jun/MB Media/Getty Images

Mick Schumacher

The team’s first option comes from within the organization.

Mick Schumacher joined the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2019, citing the team’s ties with his father, legendary driver Michael Schumacher. The younger Schumacher broke into F1 in 2021, driving for Haas. But after two seasons with the American-based outfit, Schumacher was without a seat when Haas tapped Nico Hülkenberg to drive alongside Kevin Magnussen for the 2023 season.

Schumacher then joined Mercedes as their reserve driver for the 2023 season, a role he will continue in for 2024 in addition to competing in the World Endurance Championship for Alpine.

His current boss, Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff, has long sung his praises. Last summer he spoke highly of Schumacher before the Canadian Grand Prix, crediting him for some of the team’s success in 2023. “I think teams are missing out, to be honest. I think he was burned last year,” Wolff said at the Canadian Grand Prix. “You need to give and provide an environment and framework that is different to every driver, we are all different human beings. And whoever gets him will have a very good pilot.

“It’s great to have a mature, successful and experienced Formula 1 driver supporting us,” Wolff added. “In the simulator with his feedback, that is a tremendous advantage on some of the European grands prix having him in the sim overnight and providing data for the Saturday is a super advantage for us.”

With two years of F1 experience under his belt, Schumacher might be the obvious choice for Mercedes.

But he is not the only option.

Carlos Sainz Jr.

With Hamilton tapped to drive alongside Charles Leclerc for 2025 and beyond, that means that the other Ferrari driver, Carlos Sainz Jr., will be without a seat for 2025.

Could a one-for-one switch be on offer?

On the one hand, it would make sense. While Hamilton is a seven-time World Champion, Sainz is a talented driver in his own right, and remember he was the only non-Red Bull driver to win a Grand Prix in 2023. Since joining Ferrari for the 2021 season, Sainz has a pair of fifth-place finishes in the Drivers’ Championship (2021 and 2022) and is coming off a seventh-place finish this past season.

On the other? The looming specter of Audi. The German-based manufacturer is set to join the grid as a works team for 2026, and Sainz has long been linked with Audi as one of their drivers. His father, Carlos Sainz Sr., just won the Dakar Rally while driving for Audi. The younger driver could potentially be the cornerstone of Audi’s new F1 operation, and given that, would Mercedes look to sign him to a short-term deal?

While Sainz could be an option for Mercedes, the move seems to just open up more questions than offer potential answers.

Photo by Qian Jun/MB Media/Getty Images

Alex Albon

Alex Albon is coming off a stunning season at Williams. After returning to the F1 grid for the 2022 season with Williams, Albon carried the team to a surprising seventh-place finish in 2023. Albon scored all but one of the team’s 28 points on the year, and his success led many to speculate that a return to Red Bull could be in his future.

But could his future now lie with Mercedes?

The Williams-to-Mercedes pipeline has paid off recently for Mercedes, given the success of both Valtteri Bottas and George Russell, and the team could look to tap into that energy again with Albon. And with Albon being one of the 13 drivers set to see their contract expire at the end of 2024, the timing could be right for such a move.

There is, of course, the Red Bull option when discussing Albon. When he made the move to Williams, Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner noted that there was a clause in his contract that would allow Albon and Red Bull to work together in the future. Given the ever-present speculation regarding Sergio Pérez’s own future at Red Bull, Albon could be looked at for that seat as well.

The odd driver out at VCARB/Red Bull

Having mentioned Pérez, let’s go there next.

At the moment it looks like Red Bull and Visa Cash App RB have four drivers for three spots in 2025. Barring a shocking decision by Max Verstappen to walk away from the sport — something he has hinted at before — a spot at Red Bull is his as long as he wants it.

That leaves the other seat at Red Bull, and the two spots at VCARB, on the table for 2025.

As noted above Pérez is under contract through 2024, but despite a second-place finish in the Drivers’ Championship last season, speculation about his future follows Pérez every single week.

Then there are Yuki Tsunoda, Daniel Ricciardo, and Liam Lawson. All three drove for AlphaTauri last season, and the Tsunoda/Ricciardo pairing is set to begin the year at VCARB with Lawson in a reserve role.

One of those four drivers will likely be the odd driver out when the music stops at the end of 2024, and could be an option for Mercedes in 2025.

What might complicate matters is the timing. Barring a mid-season sacking of one of the drivers — something that did happen with Nyck de Vries last year — the Red Bull/VCARB situation is likely not sorted out until later this year. Mercedes might not want to wait to see the dust settle, as that could cost them a chance to lock up a different driver for 2025.

Photo by Edmund So/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images

Esteban Ocon

“Estie Bestie’s at Mercedes baby!”

Far fetched? Maybe, but maybe not.

There are strong ties between Esteban Ocon and both Mercedes, and team boss Toto Wolff. Ocon is a graduate of the Mercedes Junior program, and has strong ties to Wolff. Ocon was linked to Mercedes ahead of the 2020 season, before the team retained Bottas, and while the team eventually replaced Bottas with Russell, Ocon’s Mercedes ties are strong.

The driver has long credited Mercedes and Wolff for his presence in F1.

“[Wolff] has been helping me since 2015. Thanks to him and Mercedes, I was able to take the next steps. I wouldn’t be here in Formula 1 without him. We still have a very good relationship, I’m grateful to him,” said Ocon back in 2022.

Ocon is under contract with Alpine through the 2024 season, so the timing could be ideal for the Mercedes Junior graduate to come home.

Fernando Alonso

Could Mercedes replace Hamilton with his former McLaren teammate?

As Hamilton’s contract discussions with Mercedes lingered into last season, and the team struggled to get the physics right with both the W13 and the W14, many pundits linked Hamilton with a move to Ferrari, and a shocking Fernando Alonso switch to Mercedes. Chief among them? Ted Kravitz, who linked Alonso to Mercedes at multiple times the past few seasons.

When news broke of Hamilton’s shocking move to Ferrari for 2025, reports surfaced that Alonso was indeed an option for Mercedes. During Sky Sports F1’s special telecast on Thursday Jenson Button joined in the speculation regarding Alonso making a move to Mercedes for 2025.

Alonso is under contract with Aston Martin through the 2024 season — like the majority of the grid — and the team has indicated a desire to retain him beyond this year. But you can see a scenario where Mercedes swoops in and adds Alonso as a short-term replacement, while keeping their options open for a long-term driver alongside Russell.

Which leads us to the final name on the list …

Photo by Eric Alonso – Formula 1/Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty Images

Andrea Kimi Antonelli

There is another in-house option for Mercedes.

One that would take them in a vastly different direction.

So far all of the drivers mentioned are either current F1 drivers, or drivers like Schumacher with F1 experience. But Mercedes could take a different approach, and give the spot to an up-and-coming driver in their Junior program.

That option? Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

Antonelli joined the Mercedes Junior Team in 2019, and has been rocketing up the lower ranks ever since. Just weeks after his 15th birthday, he joined the Italian F4 grid in 2021 and despite competing in only nine races, he finished tenth in the standings with a trio of podiums.

In 2022 Antonelli won both the Italian F4 Championship and the ADAC Formula 4 Championship. He also won the FIA Motorsport Games Formula 4 Cup, driving for Team Italy. 2023 saw yet two more championships for Antonelli, as he won the Formula Regional Middle East Championship as well as the Formula Regional European Championship. He is slated to make the jump to F2 for 2024, driving for Prema Racing, bypassing F3 completely.

He is only 17, set to turn 18 this summer. But the timing could work for him to make the leap to F1 for the 2025 campaign. A strong F2 season this year could pave the way for such a move. Would Mercedes go in this direction? That remains to be seen. But it is an option.

Or, as outlined above, the team could add a veteran driver on a short-term deal, eying Antonelli as the eventual successor.