Albon's talent has been evident since his rookie year and initially earned him a mid-season promotion from Toro Rosso to Red Bull in 2019, where he struggled against Verstappen – as did those before and after him. Williams brought him back in 2022, and Albon has since grown in confidence, leading Williams to its highest finish in the constructors' championship since 2017.
With a pre-existing relationship with George Russell – who he trained with and raced against in Formula 2 – and in great form, Albon could be the answer to Mercedes' new Hamilton problem.
Esteban Ocon
With his young F1 career shaped by Toto Wolff, Esteban Ocon may have a better chance than most of securing a place at Brackley for 2025.
The Mercedes CEO has managed the Frenchman since 2015 and played a key role in securing him a seat at Renault (now Alpine) in 2020. Ocon has since become a central part of Alpine's future plan, signing a long-term contract in 2021 that would see him race at Enstone until 2024. But as the team continues to restructure its top workforce and has little prospect of a more competitive future, working with Wolff again promises more success in 2025.
Mercedes would gain another experienced race winner who proved to be a calculated and at times incredibly quick driver, matching Fernando Alonso in 2021-22 and narrowly passing Pierre Gasly in the 2023 Drivers' Championship.
The only potential downside to Ocon's signing could be his hot reputation as a teammate, with the Frenchman clashing not only with Gasly and Alonso at Alpine, but also with Perez at Force India.
Pierre Gasly
After cutting ties with Red Bull with a move from AlphaTauri to Alpine in 2022, Pierre Gasly could be on Mercedes' shortlist to replace Hamilton. The former race winner is a popular figure in the paddock and has proven in the past that he is worthy of a top spot.
The Frenchman was promoted to a spot alongside Verstappen for 2019 after an impressive rookie year in which he scored points four times and even finished fourth in Bahrain. Unfortunately, his time at Red Bull was full of mistakes and misfortune, which led to his early expulsion back to Toro Rosso midway through the 2019 season. Upon his return to Faenza, Gasly's talent blossomed, leading to an incredible win at Monza in 2020, a ninth-place finish in the Drivers' Championship in 2021 and a positive first season at Alpine where he achieved his fourth career podium in drenching rain Zandvoort.
With his multi-year contract with Enstone expiring at the end of 2024, Gasly could complete a Mercedes driver line-up full of young and winning talent.
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso is no stranger to a surprise move, and with Mercedes potentially looking for experience to partner Russell's youth, the Spaniard would fit the bill perfectly.
Alonso made a blockbuster move of his own in 2022 after announcing he would be leaving Alpine at the end of the season and joining Aston Martin. After an incredible first season with the Silverstone brand in which he scored eight podiums and secured fourth place in the Drivers' Championship, Alonso was publicly interested in re-signing with Aston Martin when his current contract expires in 2024. Could Wolff convince him of this? Looking somewhere else?
The two-time world champion could be of great use to a Mercedes team looking to fight its way back to the front of the grid after two years of producing boring cars. With Alonso on board alongside Russell – on paper one of the strongest duos on the grid – Mercedes would have the tools they need to challenge for a title. But if Aston shows signs of having a fast car in 2024, Alonso may have no motivation to leave at all.
Frederik Vesti
Mercedes junior Frederik Vesti narrowly missed out on the F2 title in 2023, but with all F1 places at Brackley taken until at least 2025, it seemed like a blessing. Before news of Hamilton's departure broke, the Dane was set to complete another year in Formula 2 as title favorite before making the jump to Formula 1 in 2026 or beyond, but Wolff may be tempted to put his speed skills to use sooner than that we thought.
Vesti took part in two FP1 sessions for Mercedes in 2023 and although he encountered several problems on his debut in Mexico City, the seven-time F2 race winner was on the right track in his second appearance in Abu Dhabi. With 12th place overall, Vesti was faster in the W14 than F2 title contender Theo Pourchaire as well as McLaren's Pato O'Ward, Formula E champion Jake Dennis and Haas' Kevin Magnussen.
Felipe Drugovich
Since winning the F2 title in 2021, Felipe Drugovich has been sitting patiently on the sidelines waiting for an F1 seat to become available. As a member of Aston Martin's driver academy and the team's F1 reserve driver, the Brazilian's F1 experience is currently limited to simulation testing and the occasional FP1 session. But in Abu Dhabi he brought the F1 world and possibly Toto Wolff to the attention.
Instead of Alonso, Drugovich took second place in the first practice session of the weekend – just 0.288 seconds behind Russell's time. Getting so close to such an established figure with an inferior vehicle may have been enough to convince Mercedes that Drugovich is ready for a Formula 1 seat, and with two years of experience as a reserve driver he will certainly be well prepared.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli
While Hamilton's departure from Mercedes has shaken the F1 world to its core, it might have paved the way for the rise of the next young star. Andrea Kimi Antonelli has quickly worked his way up through karting and Formula 4 and will make the jump to F2 this season to partner Oliver Bearman at Prema Racing. Another sensational year could bring him a surprising jump into Formula 1 in 2025.
“We took Kimi under our wing in 2012 and he was a great kid even then,” Wolff told F1. “You could see the character [and] he was strong. We had it in the garage and there was a lot of confidence.
“He had a tremendous track record in go-karting, and then when you put him in the junior formulas, he won every single season in his rookie year. If we give him his time and don't expect him to kill it in his first season, I think he can be really great in this sport. He’s 17 – that’s so young.”
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