F1 pundit picks Sergio Perez's former teammate as the frontrunner to be Lewis Hamilton's replacement

Sky Sports F1 pundit Naomi Schiff claimed that Sergio Perez's former teammate Esteban Ocon is the frontrunner to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes for the 2025 season.

The seven-time world champion shocked everyone when he announced that he would leave the German team at the end of the 2024 season, after more than a decade with the team, to join Ferrari.

Since the announcement, there have been many drivers whose names have been reported as potential replacements for Hamilton at one of the top seats in the sport.

While appearing on the Sky Sports Show, Schiff suggested the Alpine driver's name and gave her reasoning behind the move. She said:

"So right now I'm putting my money on Esteban Ocon at Mercedes. It may be temporary, it may just be a year to get him in while they figure out who they really want in that seat, or who becomes available, whatever it might be. He's obviously got a really tight relationship with Toto, a working relationship with Toto as well."

She continued:

"It's mutually beneficial for both of them, for him to do that. He's been at Alpine for a while now and has not really been having successful results, so I can imagine he's knocking on Toto's door now saying, 'Give me my chance'. That could be a realistic thing."

F1 pundit hedges her bets on Alex Albon to replace Lewis Hamilton

Sky F1 pundit Natalie Pinkham stated that she would want to see Williams F1 driver Alex Albon replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes in 2025, as she claimed that the Thai driver deserved the opportunity.

As quoted by the aforementioned source, Pinkham said that Albon could go to either Red Bull or Mercedes in the future:

"I'd like to see Alex Albon get the seat because I think he deserves it. I think he needs and deserves to get back to the front of the grid. Obviously, Alex had a difficult time at Red Bull, so it will be quite interesting to see whether he slots back in at Red Bull, or indeed Mercedes. Either could be an option for him."

It will be fascinating to see who Toto Wolff will pick as Lewis Hamilton's successor at Mercedes for the 2025 season. The Austrian had previously stated that he was in no rush to replace the Briton and claimed that he had time on his hands to decide on Mercedes' second seat for 2025.