F1 News
Ex-boss Haas Steiner advises Wolff and Mercedes on Hamilton's replacement
- Ludo van Denderen
A quick decision on who will drive alongside George Russell at Mercedes in 2025 is not expected. Toto Wolff, the CEO and team boss of Mercedes F1, is looking at the situation at Red Bull Racing for now. The Austrian would most like to steal Max Verstappen from Red Bull to replace Lewis Hamilton, who is switching to Ferrari. If things explode at Red Bull, Verstappen is a serious option for Mercedes.
Guenther Steiner calls Verstappen "the perfect candidate" for Mercedes. In case the triple world champion does not leave his current team, Wolff should also take a look at Haas, the Italian told RTL. The name of that driver? Nico Hulkenberg.
Hulkenberg would be a striking choice
At first glance, it seems a remarkable recommendation from Steiner, as Hulkenberg is already 36 years old AND has never been on the podium in his long F1 career. With 206 Grands Prix driven, the German even holds the record for most starts without having finished in the top three. Yet Steiner - if in the shoes of his former fellow team boss - would see Hulkenberg as a real possibility: "If I were Mercedes team boss, I wouldn't say 'no' to Nico Hulkenberg."
Last weekend in Saudi Arabia, Hulkenberg managed to get his first point of the season on behalf of Haas. In Jeddah, the Germans were surprised with 10th place. "If you see what he performed there, that was really quite clever," Steiner believes.