Mercedes’ Plan A and Plan B to replace Lewis Hamilton revealed
There are reportedly two drivers - at opposite ends of their careers - in the mix to replace Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes reportedly have two drivers on their mind to replace Lewis Hamilton next year.
The seven-time F1 champion and Mercedes’ star man will spend one final year with his current team before switching to Ferrari in 2025.
He will leave a gigantic hole at Mercedes, alongside George Russell, and how to fill it will become one of Toto Wolff’s biggest tasks this year.
Teenage talent Andrea Kimi Antonelli is their Plan A, and Fernando Alonso is their Plan B, according to The Race.
Plan A
Antonelli is “firmly” believed to be Wolff’s No 1 choice.
“There is a feeling from inside the team that this is ‘the new Verstappen’,” the report states.
Wolff, having missed out on signing Max Verstappen when he was a teenager, is driven by not letting history repeat itself.
Antonelli is still just 17 and will compete in Formula 2 for the first time this year.
If he excels, there is “a very strong possibility” he will earn Hamilton’s Mercedes seat in 2025.
Sky Sports’ Karun Chandhok added about Antonelli: “From everything I hear of Antonelli, he’s pretty damn special.
“Spoke with the F3 engineers who ran him recently on a private test day. Said he was the best driver in an F3 car since Verstappen!
“McLaren gamble with rookie Lewis in 2007 worked out.”
Wolff has previously been asked about replacing Hamilton with Antonelli, and he said: “Kimi has been with Mercedes since he was 11.
“He's been in the junior programme and his career was very successful. I think most important at that stage is he focuses on F2.
“If we start to spin his mind or unleash rumours that’s not going to help his F2 campaign.
“He’s just stepped out of karts a few years ago. He’s not even 18.
“I would rather not start any speculation about Kimi going into F1 at this stage.”
Plan B
Aston Martin’s Alonso, now 42 and the oldest driver on the F1 grid, is supposedly Mercedes’ No 2 choice.
His contract with Aston Martin expires at the end of this year, and his manager Flavio Briatore has been spotted having coffee with Wolff this week.
Alonso was asked about moving to Mercedes next year.
“I think it’s going to be a question [I get] for the first few months of the year,” he replied.
He insisted that renewing his contract would Aston Martin was his “priority”.
But he added: “If we cannot reach an agreement and I want to commit to race in Formula 1, I know that I have a privileged position. I’m probably attractive to other teams.”
