Mercedes’ core was shaken when Lewis Hamilton made the life-changing decision to switch to Ferrari after 11 years of success with the Silver Arrows. The past couple of seasons’ struggles forced the Briton into prioritizing his storied career over the team’s needs.
But will the gutsy move to Ferrari pay off? Only time will tell. Amidst all this drama, Mercedes has emerged as the biggest loser as they not only lost a successful driver but have less than a year’s time to fill his gigantic shoes. Recently, team principal Toto Wolff dropped a big hint on a potential conversation with a former champion. Is a return at this stage plausible for the retired driver?
Toto Wolff Addresses Potential Signing Of Sebastian Vettel As Lewis Hamilton’s Replacement
Lewis Hamilton went with his gut feeling and chose Ferrari as the final destination of his illustrious F1 career. But he leaves Mercedes in shambles along the way. Hamilton and Silver Arrows were on good terms heading into winter. But one January was enough to overturn Hamilton’s perspective towards his future. Regardless, Toto Wolff has a big task up his sleeves as he needs to find a replacement who can fit into the shoes of the seven-time world champion and the most successful drivers of the sport. Besides junior phenomenon Kimi Antonelli, the Silver Arrows have been linked to four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel. The German driver won four titles with Red Bull before switching gears to Ferrari.
He also drove for Aston Martin before calling it quits on his F1 career. But Toto Wolff thinks Sebastian Vettel has what it takes to win in Formula One. While talking to Sky Germany, Wolff said Sebastian is a giant of F1 and still has the speed. But refused to reveal if Mercedes were actually looking into contacting Vettel for a potential return to the sport. Wolff added that he has a mere few weeks of time left to decide if he wants to accommodate youth or go with experienced personnel on a short-term basis. Of course, the timing of Hamilton’s move caught the Austrian team’s principal off guard. He was looking forward to rebuilding the team with Lewis. But now, in just a span of one winter break, he faces the toughest conundrum, which could either make or break the future of the racing outfit.
Mercedes Fans Excited With Sebastian Vettel’s Potential Return Rumors
As soon as Toto Wolff’s comments went live, F1 fans were buzzing with excitement of potentially witnessing Sebastian Vettel drive again. Wolff has kept his options open and could right approach Vettel to drive for Mercedes in the 2025 season. Meanwhile, the fans took to social media to share their excitement.
Many actually believe that Mercedes can pull off the unthinkable and convince Vettel to come out of retirement. However, the potential scenario seems far-fetched for now. Vettel has completely cut himself off the F1 world post-retirement in 2022. It’s highly unlikely he would consider joining forces with Silver Arrows, knowing that it would be a short-term affair.
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