Toto Wolff has given some insight into who the Silver Arrows are lining up to join George Russell on the team at the end of the season when Lewis Hamilton departs, with Carlos Sainz among those being considered.
The news broke earlier this year ahead of the season opener at Bahrain that Hamilton would be joining Ferrari at the end of this season, bringing an end to his 11-year spell at the team.
During that time he won six world championships, adding to his maiden crown won with McLaren to draw level with the legendary Michael Schumacher at the pinnacle of the sport.
As such, Sainz is set to lose his seat at the Italian side, with Charles Leclerc partnering Hamilton in 2025, and as such the Spanish driver is in the market for a new team next year.
With Mercedes among the most prestigious names in Formula One and indeed sport in general, it is understandable that almost every driver would want to sign on with them for next season.
Carlos Sainz is on Mercedes’ list of potential successors to Lewis Hamilton when he leaves at the end of the season
Toto Wolff revealed that the Spanish driver is one of a number of potential new arrivals being considered
‘Those who are available, or who could be interesting for us, all have arguments in their favor,’ Wolff admitted.
‘Whether they are very young, whether they are very experienced in their best years… Or Carlos (Sainz).
‘It’s a difficult choice. There are reasons to sign each one. I just want to take a step back and simply monitor the situation. Some of the guys mentioned can sign for other teams and that’s why, right now, I’m just looking at it ,’
Sainz has just won his third ever Grand Prix, fighting back from an appendix operation to win at Albert Park in Australia within just 16 days.
That makes him one of the few drivers to have halted Max Verstappen’s inexorable charge to multiple championship crowns in a dominant last three years for Red Bull, with the Dutchman winning 19 of the last 21 races.
Yet Hamilton’s seat is a difficult one to fill given his stature in the sport, and so Mercedes have considered a number of angles to replace him.
Reports have linked the likes of youngster Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Alpine struggler Esteban Ocon and former world champion Fernando Alonso with the opening.
Sainz, though, has the better resume of those options, with Alonso approaching his 43rd birthday and Ocon’s sole race win coming three years ago.
Sainz is the only driver not named Max Verstappen to win a race in the last 22 Grands Prix
Lewis Hamilton will join Ferrari at the end of the season bringing an end to 11 years with Mercedes
Antonelli would be an interesting prospect, however the 17-year-old is untested at the top level, and as such would be more of a long-term project.
In that regard, Mercedes will surely be keen to ensure instant success, with Red Bull streets ahead of the rest of the paddock at the moment, and the chasing pack in danger of being left further and further behind.
As a result, there is plenty of pressure on Wolff and Co to make the right decision, as it is one that could have a long-term impact on their successes.
Among the other drivers out of contract at the end of the season are Pierre Gasly and Sergio Perez, as well as Valtteri Bottas.
