Lewis Hamilton is joining Ferrari at the end of the 2024 season, but his replacement’s identity remains unknown.
Lewis Hamilton’s departure from Mercedes was announced before an engine had been fired in 2024, but with just two races remaining until the summer break, the Silver Arrows are yet to announce his replacement.
Several other teams including Haas, Sauber and Alpine have made decisions on changes to their driver line-ups for the 2025 campaign, but for Toto Wolff and Mercedes, there is still a tough decision to make.
The leading factor stopping Wolff from making a concrete decision on his 2025 line-up is Max Verstappen. A clause in his contract would allow him to depart Red Bull at the end of this season, should Helmut Marko be willing to resign from his role, making him a legitimate target for Mercedes.
Earlier in the year this looked like a pipe dream as Verstappen rattled off victory after victory and Mercedes struggled in the battle with Aston Martin for the honour of being the fourth fastest team. However, in recent weeks that has all changed.
Heading into the Hungarian Grand Prix, Mercedes are back-to-back race winners. While George Russell’s triumph in Austria can be attributed to a generous helping of fortune, Lewis Hamilton’s victory at Silverstone was achieved on pure pace at the expense of Verstappen.
Such impressive performance gains could tempt Verstappen to Brackley for 2025, particularly if Wolff’s organisation can pull clear of Red Bull and McLaren in terms of raw speed in the coming weeks before the summer break.
However, Verstappen isn’t the only option for Mercedes. Kimi Antonelli is being held in the wings, and if the three-time world champion is unwilling to leave Red Bull then the 17-year-old is being touted for a remarkable promotion into the seat alongside Russell for 2025.
Antonelli clinched his maiden Formula Two victory at Silverstone the day before Hamilton’s triumph and has impressed during private tests in F1 machinery. However, his future will not be clarified until Verstappen has made an absolute decision on his whereabouts for 2025.
