Toto Wolff opens up on possible Sebastian Vettel comeback to F1 after Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari move

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said that he remains in contact with former F1 driver Sebastian Vettel. This came ahead of Lewis Hamilton's announcement to leave the team in the 2025 season.

Lewis Hamilton's replacement at Mercedes has become a major talking point since his move to Ferrari in 2025 was announced earlier.

Sebastian Vettel has emerged as the fan favorite on social media to drive for the team in 2025. After his retirement post-2022 season, it was speculated that Vettel would return to racing in F1, and now that Mercedes will have a vacant seat, he is thought to be the perfect candidate.

Talking about the same, team principal Toto Wolff shared that he remains in constant touch with the German, but there has been no interaction regarding a possible return to racing. He said (as per F1 reporter Tobi Gruner):

"I think he made the decision to not race anymore. We are talking on a regular basis. We've also talked yesterday, but it wasn't about driving for us in the future."

Despite the speculation that Sebastian Vettel would fit well with the Silver Arrows, the possibility of that is less. Mercedes is known to look forward to the future and hire young and talented drivers. George Russell's signing in 2022 was a major example of this.

So far, there has been no indication of Lewis Hamilton's replacement at Mercedes in 2025. Furthermore, with Toto Wolff's comment, the chances of Sebastian Vettel racing for them also appear slim.

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Who could replace Lewis Hamilton if not Sebastian Vettel?

Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton shared a rivalry early on in F1 when the former was racing for Ferrari. The two were competitive enough but it was Hamilton who got himself to the top with a dominating car and skillful driving.

While the four-time world champion would be a seemingly surprising choice for Mercedes, there are other drivers on the current grid who could be picked.

Alex Albon, who raced for Red Bull for some time, has shown a good skillset in driving. During the 2023 season, he managed to pull out Williams from the bottom of the table with a few points added to their bag.

At the same time, Fernando Alonso is another choice that the team might think of. He had a successful stint with Aston Martin in 2023. However, given the fact that Mercedes would want to choose someone for the future, Alonso's selection seems unlikely.

Furthermore, the team also has Mick Schumacher as their reserve driver. The German spent two seasons racing with Haas in F1. But it is hard to say if the team would be willing to take a chance with him.

Currently, Mercedes will have the same driver pair for the upcoming season where Lewis Hamilton would be partnering with George Russell for one final year before he moves to Ferrari.