There are wild rumors that Lewis Hamilton will not be driving in the 2022 Formula 1 season. If the Briton has had enough of Formula 1 and retires, Mercedes has a big problem. We list the possible replacements.
Valtteri Bottas
Of course, Valtteri Bottas signed a nice deal with Alfa Romeo, but if Mercedes wanted him back to replace Hamilton, Bottas would be crazy not to. Alfa Romeo would play hard, but in such a situation Bottas could hardly deny a longer term at Mercedes.
Alfa Romeo would then have to look for a replacement for Bottas. They are looking for experience and maybe Mercedes can help them. In Stoffel Vandoorne they have a former F1 driver as a reserve driver and Nyck de Vries also has a lot of experience, albeit not in Formula 1. On the other hand, Alfa Romeo would have a chance to bring Antonio Giovinazzi back.
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Esteban Ocon
Another option that is still open is Esteban Ocon. He has also been under contract with Alpine for a long time, but will continue to be on Toto Wolff’s radar as a former junior at Mercedes. Ocon has the experience and Alpine might be interested in selling the French to Mercedes for good money.
Alpine would then solve a luxury problem called Oscar Piastri. The F2 champion of 2021 will have to be content with a spare role at Alpine in 2022, but of course deserves a permanent seat in F1. If things can move like this, it might not be bad for Alpine.
Sebastian Vettel
If Mercedes is looking for an experienced man and figurehead next to the young talent George Russell, then Sebastian Vettel is her man. The German may no longer be one of the best drivers in the field and certainly not the best in wheel-to-wheel battles, but as a guide he would be great for the German team.
The ties between Mercedes and Aston Martin are tight and a possible deal could be arranged. However, when Vettel canceled his contract with Ferrari, Mercedes did not have the former world champion in mind. Whether they think it is good enough now remains to be seen.
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Nyck De Vries / Stoffel Vandoorne
The last and most unlikely solution is to promote one of the reserve drivers. Stoffel Vandoorne and Nyck de Vries have done well for Mercedes in Formula E, De Vries won a title there, while Vandoorne, with his experience in Formula 1, is ahead at McLaren.
The chance that Mercedes as a top team will choose one of the two untested talents is very slim. It took Russell three years at Williams to prove himself to the management of Mercedes, so an FE World Championship title for De Vries and two unseen years in F1 for Vandoorne don’t seem enough to qualify for an F1 place at Mercedes .
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