3 drivers who could join Mercedes in 2025

• Toto Wolff is weathering more than one storm with the exit of Lewis Hamilton
• Hamilton is in a $100 million-a-year deal with his childhood dream team Ferrari
• He will join the Scuderia family in 2025

Toto Wolff is weathering more than one storm with the exit of Lewis Hamilton as he has to pick from a list of 3 drivers who could join Mercedes in 2025.

Hamilton is in a $100 million-a-year deal with his childhood dream team Ferrari starting next season. He will be leaving Mercedes AMG after a solid 11 years, seven of which he won the F1 Championship title.

But, the team is no longer aligned with his vision of winning an eighth championship title since 2022. With Ferrari, he is confident that he will once again challenge Red Bull which has dominated F1 since 2021.

Who are The 3 Drivers Who Could Join Mercedes in 2025?

As he looks to replace Hamilton, Wolff acknowledges that he must make a difficult choice. He maintains that all of Mercedes’ candidates have a proven track record which makes it hard for him to pick a replacement for Hamilton.

Wolff has since received a deluge of resumes after news of the British driver moving to Ferrari. Fellow Mercedes driver George Russell notes that it has been interesting to watch these names pop up on Wolff’s phone.

Here are the 3 drivers who could join Mercedes in 2025.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff. Photo/Crash.net

1. Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso, 42, racing for Aston Martin, has stated that he is still in a strong position to negotiate for a Formula 1 seat for the 2025 season with prospective teams. Alonso’s current F1 contract ends towards the end of the 2024 season.

His admission fuels more conjecture in the driver market, indicating that he is a strong contender to succeed Hamilton in a Mercedes seat when the latter departs for Ferrari. He put on an impressive display in the first eight Grand Prix of the 2023 season, finishing on the podium in six of them. His exceptional individual effort helped Aston Martin secure P5 in the Constructors’ Championship, as he scored 206 of the team’s 280 points.

Fernando Alonso. Photo/Planet F1

The Spaniard displayed his best-ever preseason fitness test performance. It’s also notable because he is the only driver with a world championship title who will be available for the 2019 Formula One grid. Speaking to the media on the third day of pre-season testing in Bahrain, Alonso stated that his immediate priorities are the long 24-race season that lies ahead of him.

It’s very interesting because I have, I think, a good position to negotiate. But I want to at least do the first couple of races without thinking too much. I want to see myself in a new season. It’s going to be the longest-ever season in Formula 1,” he said.

2. Andrea Kimi Antonelli

At only 17, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, alias Kimi, is a rising star in motorsports. He is a Mercedes junior driver with a very strong reputation. Kimi has won numerous titles during his stellar karting career. In addition, he has excelled in a number of single-seater classes, taking home victories in the Formula Regional European. He also won in the Middle Eastern Championships in 2023 and the Italian F4 and ADAC F4 championships in 2022.

Kimi is competing in Formula 2 with Prema Racing, skipping Formula 3. This audacious action implies that Mercedes views him as a future champion. He has the talent and with the right platform and mentorship which Mercedes has at its disposal, he could be the youngest driver in F1 in 2025.

3.  Carlos Sainz

Carlos Sainz at the Bahrain Grand Prix 2024. Photo/Asharq Al-Awsat

The Ferrari driver is a top contender among the 3 drivers who could join Mercedes in 2025. His contract with the Italian team ends this season. It is his seat that was sacrificed for Hamilton. Sainz finished on P3 at the Bahrain Grand Prix but missed the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix due to an appendectomy. He bounced back a week later to win the Australian Grand Prix.

Wolff acknowledges that the Spaniard, who has now won three podium finishes is a potential candidate for Mercedes. With the three candidates, the Mercedes team principal is aware that picking a replacement is extremely difficult.

“The ones that are available or that could be interesting for us, they all have arguments in favour of them,” Wolff stated in Melbourne.

“Be it the very young ones, be very mature ones in the best years. Or Carlos. It’s a difficult choice because there is no real… it’s not like there is a criteria for one and everything points to the other,” he added.