Toto Wolff admits he has already selected Lewis Hamilton’s successor at Mercedes amidst Ferrari rumors

Mercedes revealed the driver who will succeed Lewis Hamilton in leading the Silver Arrows.

Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton, image via FirstSportz

Lewis Hamilton joined Mercedes in 2013 and has achieved immense success with the Silver Arrows. The 38-year-old won 6 world titles with the Brackley-based team. Despite leading the German team for over a decade, the Briton has been frustrated in recent times with rumors hinting at Ferrari being interested in Hamilton. Mercedes already has its eyes set on who could take up the lead driver role in case Lewis does leave Brackley.

Gwen Lagrue, who leads the Mercedes driver development program, reckons that George Russell will be the one to lead the team. Russell joined the Silver Arrows in 2022 after spending three seasons with Williams. The 25-year-old has outperformed his world-champion teammate on numerous occasions in 2022. As such, George is the ideal candidate for such a role.

Gwen believed that Russell had utilized every opportunity for the team’s benefit so far. This has allowed the 25-year-old to gain the trust of the Silver Arrows that he will indeed get the most out of a good car. Lagrue made it clear that George would lead the team if Hamilton decided to retire or join a rival. Toto Wolff said, “‘Do we see in George a successor to Lewis to win races and fight for a title?’ The answer is clear – yes.”

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Toto Wolff convinced Lewis Hamilton would not sign with Ferrari

Fred Vasseur and Lewis Hamilton, image via Twitter

In recent weeks, rumors have emerged that Ferrari is interested in signing Lewis Hamilton. So much so that many believe a £40 million contract is on offer for the 7-time world champion. However, Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff is not bothered by such speculation. The Austrian billionaire insists that such rumors spread every once in a while, and yet Mercedes resigns its star driver.

Toto Wolff stated, “I’m firmly convinced that we’ll find each other, there’s not a millimetre of doubt for me”. Hamilton’s contract with the Silver Arrows runs out at the end of the 2023 F1 season. The 38-year-old has mentioned his will to continue in F1 previously. However, Lewis has not acknowledged the recent multi-million Ferrari rumors yet.

F1 2023: Russell ? Hamilton

So far Lewis has had the measure of George, will that continue in Monte Carlo? ?#F1 #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/MjTjxb56qi
— Autosport (@autosport) May 22, 2023

Thus, Mercedes has already selected George Russell as the driver to lead the team after Lewis Hamilton. However, the German team will be looking to resign the 7-time world champion. Russell is set to stay at Brackley for the long term and, as such, is the best pick for the Silver Arrows. It remains to be seen if Hamilton indeed decides to leave Mercedes in the near future.

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Tags: George Russell Lewis Hamilton Toto Wolff

#About the Author

Armaan Agarwal

(3066 Articles Published)

Armaan Agarwal is a Motorsport Sub-editor and Content Manager at Firstsportz. He has written over 2500 articles with around 1000 edited pieces under his belt. Armaan has years of experience in the field of journalism, having followed Formula 1 and NASCAR for almost a decade. Nico Rosberg's title victory at the 2016 Abu Dhabi GP against Lewis Hamilton remains engraved in his memory. He started his journey with his own motorsport blog in 2017. At Firstsportz, Armaan provides deep insight into the sport for fans through his special editorial pieces. Armaan has several other skills, including social media content creation, script writing, and debating. He completed his Bachelors of Arts in Mass Communication with a gold medal from St. Xavier’s University Kolkata. Presently, he is pursuing his Post Graduation in Broadcast Journalism at the India Today Media Institute with a keen eye at the ever-evolving dynamics of a newsroom. Apart from motorsport, he is an avid reader and keeps himself up to date with current affairs.

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