Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has an incredibly important decision to make in the coming weeks.
The team appear to be stagnating on track, but with Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari drawing ever closer, he needs to be replaced.
Speaking on the Telegraaf Formule 1 Podcast, former F1 driver Cristijan Albers suggested one driver that Toto Wolff might have already ruled out of the running.
Replacing a seven-time world champion is never going to be easy and while George Russell has proved to be very reliable, it’s unclear at this stage if he’s ready to be the number one driver for a top team.
It’s therefore understandable why Wolff doesn’t appear to be in any rush to bring in Hamilton’s replacement until he knows exactly what sort of driver he needs.
However, Albers believes that Wolff is afraid of signing Ferrari star Carlos Sainz for Mercedes for 2025.
While the 29-year-old has been on fire for Ferrari this season, Albers believes that there are still question marks over his consistency.
READ MORE: Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz’s life outside F1 from full name, girlfriend and height
Mercedes are afraid of signing Carlos Sainz for 2025 – Christijan Albers
Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari before the season even started put Carlos Sainz in an awkward position.
It’s not unheard of for drivers to announce moves far in advance, with Damon Hill famously replaced by Williams halfway through a campaign that he went on to win.
However, Sainz suddenly found himself in a position where he had to earn a new seat on the grid before he’d even driven this season’s car.
Thankfully for him, Ferrari have delivered and he’s in the mix with the Red Bull drivers at the front of the grid more often than not.
That was summed up by his performance in Melbourne off the back of major surgery when he took advantage of Max Verstappen retiring to win the third F1 race of his career.
Mercedes should be an option for Sainz in 2025 but Albers believes the team are afraid of bringing him in.
While that might be true, there are other reasons as well why a move might not be best for either party.
One of those involves a very talented but inexperienced teenager who could be set to join the grid next season…
Carlos Sainz still searching for 2025 Formula 1 seat
Speaking about Sainz’s future, Albers said: “He is in a difficult package because there is of course a small chance with Red Bull.
“We talk very enthusiastically about those two [Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz] side by side, but we know from their years at Toro Rosso that that did not go well.
“He [Sainz] comes from a super seat because Ferrari is the team that every driver dreams of, including Max [Verstappen].
“Then there are still options at Mercedes, but Toto is afraid because he is inconsistent.
“Sainz does not always perform consistently, or always at top level.
“Mercedes needs a top driver, or you have to create a new star, so [Andrea Kimi] Antonelli or [Liam] Lawson or [Oliver] Bearman. But they also have no experience.
“Max, [George] Russell, [Charles] Leclerc, that’s a completely different generation than Lewis [Hamilton] and [Fernando] Alonso. It’s difficult to explain, but that’s just a generational difference.”
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Mercedes AMG F1 Team from team principal to lineage
Who could replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes?
If for whatever reason Mercedes are afraid to bring in Carlos Sainz in 2025, then they won’t be short of alternatives.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli looks like Toto Wolff’s preferred candidate at this stage.
However, if it’s deemed that he’s not ready to step up from Formula 2 straight into the works team, then he might spend another year with PREMA or he could replace Logan Sargeant at Williams.
Esteban Ocon is still managed by Wolff and could be a useful stop-gap given how poor his Alpine car is right now.
While it has recently been suggested that a return to Mercedes is within the realms of possibility for Valtteri Bottas.
Whatever happens, it looks like Wolff is going to take his time to make a decision, another reason why Sainz is unlikely to be driving a Silver Arrow next season.
The post ‘Toto is afraid’: Christijan Albers says Mercedes won’t sign ‘inconsistent’ F1 star to replace Lewis Hamilton appeared first on F1 Oversteer.
