With Hamilton at Ferrari, who could take his place at Mercedes? From Kimi Antonelli and Frederik Vesti to Alex Albon here some of the possible substitutes.
- Cristina Mazzotti
- Feb 1, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: Feb 2, 2024
In the last few hours the web has gone crazy with the release of this unexpected news,
apparently, Hamilton will join the team of Maranello from 2025 alongside Charles Leclerc; but from these news a doubt arises, who will replace him at Mercedes?
A category jump like RedBull’s one?
Among the various options of Mercedes, one always catches the eye, the young "prodigy" Andrea Kimi Antonelli, maybe Mercedes wants to try a jump like the one made by Verstappen with RedBull in 2015. Let’s analyse why he could be one of the options: Antonelli now has 2 European titles in karting, in the OK senior class; two Formula 4 titles (German and Italian) and his most recent success in FRECA. We can say that despite the young age, Antonelli achieved numerous successes, not to mention his devotedness and humility as a driver; in fact Andrea is known above all for his availability and friendliness towards everyone, and Mercedes has never hidden the interest in taking him to the highest spot. In 2024 we will see him engaged in Formula 2 with Prema Team, flanked by the other promising young Oliver Bearman.
F2 Vice-Champion, in ELMS for the 2024 season
Other options might include the recently crowned FIA F2 vice-champion Frederik Vesti.
Vesti ended his Formula 2 season with a bitter taste in his mouth, but surely his season was one that amazed throughout 2023, with some incredible performances but also unlucky moments.
In 2024 the Danish driver will race in ELMS with the Cool Racing team: the ELMS championship that has proved to be very competitive and above all to give opportunities to those drivers who come from single-seaters and not, to be noticed even more, but also to add experience to their wealth of experience.
From Red Bull, to DTM, to Williams: Alex Albon
Obviously there’s no guarantee that only a Mercedes Junior drivers can aspire to the opportunity of a seat in Mercedes, in fact we know very well the affiliation between the Williams Racing team and Mercedes F1 Team. Albon, who comes from a past as a Red Bull Junior and later a Red Bull driver, could be one of the choices of the Brackley team, in fact in his two seasons with Williams, Alex proved to have enormous potential, and above all a talent, which had perhaps been burned with the so rapid passage in Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen. The interest in Albon seems to have always been there, and certainly would bring so much to the English team, with all the experience gained over the years.
Let’s not forget about Carlos Sainz, who would be left without a seat and therefore a possible exchange would not be absurd. The Spaniard already seems tied to Audi for the future, but after these news never say never.
Now, we just have to sit and wait for the official confirmation of the signing of
Hamilton, and a future announcement by Mercedes. In the meantime let’s enjoy this season,which although not yet begun, is already giving a good show.
Comments