Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has a conundrum on his hands ahead of next season after Lewis Hamilton decided to end his long association with the team.
Mercedes have struggled during the ground effect era and the seven-time world champion is going to try and break Michael Schumacher’s record at Ferrari.
Speaking on the On Track GP F1 Podcast, pundit and racing driver Richard Bradley was talking about who could potentially replace the 39-year-old.
Toto Wolff is in a strong position in the driver’s market with so many potential candidates coming to the end of their current contracts.
His number one choice is Max Verstappen and he’s willing to offer him contract terms that even Hamilton wasn’t given.
Then there’s youngster Andrea Kimi Antonelli who is very highly-rated by the team.
However, he looks more likely to replace Logan Sargeant at Williams at this stage.
Bradley therefore believes that Mercedes might look towards Williams for 2025 and try and bring in Alex Albon.
The 28-year-old has 88 Grand Prix under his belt and a couple of podium finishes but has been outperforming his car ever since arriving at Williams.
Richard Bradley thinks Mercedes could look at Alex Albon for 2025 seat
The 2024 season has been disappointing for Williams after six race weekends.
James Vowles’s outfit are yet to score a point and falling behind in the development of the FW46 hasn’t helped their cause.
They were without a spare chassis until the Miami Grand Prix, forcing Sargeant to sit out of the Australian Grand Prix after Albon wrecked his car in practice.
Both drivers then crashed at the following race in Japan before Sargeant spun during qualifying in China.
The American driver was in the barriers again in Miami after making contact with Kevin Magnussen with their crash damage bill growing every week.
Alex Albon is signed up to drive for Williams until the end of 2025 but Mercedes might be able to offer him a way out.
Sky Sports pundit Naomi Schiff suggested earlier in the season that Albon could have the opportunity to sign for Mercedes next season.
It makes sense for Williams to try and build the team around Albon in the long-term but he may have ambitions to return to the front of the grid before then.
Williams and Mercedes relationship could encourage 2025 driver swap
Talking about the Williams driver, Bradley said: “Going against Alex Albon, Alex Albon is a formidable opponent at the minute.
There’s then a proposal that Albon could move on and a potential move to Mercedes is suggested, to which Bradley replies: “Yeah, which I wouldn’t be surprised at one bit.”
If Mercedes decide Albon is the driver they want to line up alongside George Russell in 2025, then they would be in a strong position to negotiate.
Antonelli might be their ideal option to replace Sargeant and given Mercedes also provide Williams with power units, they’ve got assets they can bargain with.
Vowles might be able to negotiate a serious discount on those power units and charge Mercedes for running their junior driver as he gains experience in Formula 1.
That would allow him to reinvest funds into Williams’s out-of-date facilities and a strong replacement for Albon.
With the likes of Valtteri Bottas and Esteban Ocon set to be out of contract, it could be a win-win for both manufacturers.
The post ‘Wouldn’t be surprised’: F1 pundit suggests Toto Wolff could look at 88-race driver for 2025 Mercedes seat appeared first on F1 Oversteer.