"Just sign Vettel man": Fans react to Mercedes boss claiming that the team would wait for selecting Lewis Hamilton's replacement at Mercedes

Some F1 fans online were quick to suggest Sebastian Vettel's name after Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff claimed that he would wait before selecting Lewis Hamilton's replacement for the 2025 season.

The seven-time world champion surprised everyone after it was announced that he will leave the German team and join Scuderia Ferrari next year. He had signed a contract extension with the former world champions in August 2023 but decided to activate his release clause and join the Italian team for the next season.

Speaking to the media, including RacingNews365, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff suggested that he was in no rush to sign an immediate replacement for Lewis Hamilton. He said:

"It is not something that I want to be rushed into. A few contracts have been signed in the last few weeks that we would have looked at, that would have been interesting, but the timing beat us a bit.

"I always like change because change provides you with an opportunity, and in the same way we embraced the Nico [Rosberg] situation, and that was equally as unexpected, I am looking forward to taking the right decisions for the team, together with my colleagues for who is going to be in the seat next year."

F1 fans took to social media to give their reactions to Wolff's comments, with one fan on X (formerly Twitter) claiming that Mercedes should target former four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel as the replacement for Hamilton, saying:

"They wanna get it right, just sign Vettel man."

Here are some more reactions:

Others gave their own choices for the seat:

Vettel, 36, retired from the sport in 2022. George Russell's contract with Mercedes, meanwhile, runs until the end of the 2025 season.

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Toto Wolff chimes in Lewis Hamilton's 'dream' of driving in Ferrari

Toto Wolff stated that he understood Lewis Hamilton's point of view and also claimed that it is the dream of every driver in the sport to drive for Ferrari.

Speaking to the media, via the Telegraph, the 52-year-old Austrian spoke about the Brit's move to the red team and said:

"Every race driver dreams of being in a red overall in the red car. We’ve discussed many times before, that this would be exciting to do one day. But over the years we came to the conclusion that finishing the legacy here was something that one can be proud of."

Both Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes have stated that they are completely focused and committed for the season ahead as both parties look to end what will be a 12-year-long partnership at the end of the year on a high.