F1 pundit urges Mercedes to replace Lewis Hamilton with “quiet young” Carlos Sainz in 2025

Carlos Sainz has got off to a solid start during the ongoing 2024 F1 season.

F1 pundit urges Mercedes to replace Lewis Hamilton with “quiet young” Carlos Sainz in 2025

Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz (Via: Imago)

Carlos Sainz won the Australian Grand Prix while taking advantage of Red Bull’s misfortune. Moreover, the Spaniard is seemingly the faster of the two Ferraris as per recent trends and has been attracting immense attention left, right, and center. This has led F1 expert, Naomi Schiff, to propose that the 29-year-old is the best bet for Mercedes amid the Lewis Hamilton-Mercedes separation.

Carlos Sainz won the race at Albert Park just after missing the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix due to appendicitis surgery. This feat of a driver returning to the grid after a medical emergency and winning on his first race back was last achieved by Gerhard Berger in 1997. Moreover, the Spanish driver’s immense pace in the SF-24 after not being offered a contract extension has made him one of the hottest properties in the driver market. Subsequently, he seems like the most suitable option to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, as suggested by Naomi Schiff.

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When asked about whether Sainz will get a seat for next year, Schiff gave a detailed response.

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Carlos[Sainz] is a driver that provides a lot of assets to a team, more so than just speed. He comes with a lot of experience even though he is quite young. He is a solid driver. He comes with a race-thinking mentality, he’s got all pictures covered and all boxes ticked in terms of how he thinks about a race weekend. He’ll be a real asset to any team. I could maybe see him at Red Bull, maybe Mercedes, maybe Aston Martin.
Naomi Schiff said in an interview with SkySports

Schiff explained that the former three-time race winner brings a lot to the table in terms of performance. Moreover, the Ferrari driver has a strategic mindset and is quite clever in terms of his approach. This has made the Spaniard an appropriate choice for several teams. Sainz will be one of the targets of Red Bull and the Silver Arrows.

Lewis Hamilton has lost faith in Mercedes

A disconnect could be observed between the most successful driver-team alliance in the sport’s history. The Brackley-based team has started the season on the back foot and has not met their initial targets. This has caused the former world champion, Lewis Hamilton, to lose hope of winning a record-breaking eighth world championship with the German manufacturer.

Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton.
Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton (via IMAGO)

Ted Kravitz recently explained the increasing rift between Hamilton and Toto Wolff.

I think Lewis Hamilton thinks it's cursed with the same bad handing characteristics in the rear of the car that last year's car - and the car the year before it - had as well. Clearly this car is still not right. Toto when I spoke to him said, ‘I still think we can make it right’. But Lewis pretty much wrote off this year’s World Championship. I know you’re going to say to me, ‘Yeah, anyone not in a Red Bull is not going to win this year’s World Championship’. But there are 21 races still to go.
Ted Kravitz said on his Ted Notebook show aired on SkySports

The British commentator shared his chat with Wolff and stated the condition behind closed doors at Brackley. Moreover, Hamilton reckons that Mercedes cannot excel with the machinery they have. The Brit has had a huge struggle adapting to it.

Subsequently, this has created a doom-and-gloom atmosphere within the team. However, Toto Wolff is still optimistic and wants to give his colleague a pleasing farewell before moving to Maranello.

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