Toto Wolf has reportedly started negotiations with Lewis Hamilton’s replacement

Toto Wolff is currently looking at driver options to fill in the footsteps of Lewis Hamilton from the following season.

Toto Wolf has reportedly started negotiations with Lewis Hamilton’s replacement

Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff. (Via IMAGO)

Lewis Hamilton‘s shocking move to Ferrari from the 2025 season shook the entire grid. Hence, the team now requires a driver to follow in the footsteps of the seven-time world champion. Toto Wolff is actively looking at drivers available to be hired from the coming season. The Austrian principal has a plethora of options to choose from as a majority of the drivers’ market will open up by 2025.

Toto Wolff has considered multiple options to fill in the empty seat at Brackley. Carlos Sainz would be ousted from Ferrari following Lewis Hamilton‘s move to Maranello and is currently seatless on the grid. Hence, even talks have been flourishing about the Spaniard’s potential move to Mercedes from the following season in Formula 1.

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However, Wolff is yet to seal anything in regards to the driver for the team from the coming season. Hence, the team principal will take his time to choose the driver to pair alongside George Russell. The Austrian had previously mentioned that Russell would be the Number one driver after Hamilton’s exit.

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According to recent reports, Toto Wolff was spotted having a chat alongside Carlos Sainz and his manager in F1. Another prominent Italian outlet, Corriere dello Sport mentioned how Sainz spent quite some time in Mercedes’ hospitality unit with potential talks of a contract for the driver as well. Hence, the 29-year-old might be considered as an option for Brackley in 2025.

Toto Wolff acknowledged the shortcomings of the W15 challenger

The W15 challenger was highly talked about by the entire crew before the commencement of the 2024 season. Wolff had mentioned how the team had gone with a completely ‘conventional’ route for the challenger. However, as displayed by the team’s performance, the W15 challenger is not one of the best creations by the team. Hence the post-regulation change struggles for the constructor continue.

Toto Wolff
Toto Wolff (via IMAGO)

Wolff highlighted how there was something wrong with the development of the challenger that the team didn’t understand. Additionally, the team principal claimed that the short rear wing of the car might be causing further issues with the performance. The Austrian also acknowledged how the chassis was losing pace at high speeds on the circuit.

There is something which we don’t understand. We are quick everywhere else pretty much. We know that we have a smaller rear wing, we’re compensating what we’re losing through the corners. But it’s just at high speed where we’re losing all the lap time.
Wolff said, as reported by motorsport.com.

The team aims to potentially work over the chassis and help facilitate the team to return back to their winning ways. Brackley failed to achieve great results during the 2023 season despite highly positive feedback during the latter half. Hence, Mercedes continues development ahead of the Australian GP to spark some better results down the season.

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