Who Could Fill the Vacant Mercedes Cockpit?

[grahamw]

Robert Kubica; driving race cars again and > than the lot of them.
Still a youngster as well.

Kubica would have been a possible but I believe he stated that he sustained such an injury in the Ronda Andora Rally that he would find it almost impossible to drive in F1 again. This hasn't stopped him driving rally cars but suggests that he drives them for that reason presumeably.

 

[Andy 'Mars Bar' Graham]

Would finally make F1 interesting again.

*sighs* F1 doesn't need two teammates who hate each other to make it interesting. F1 needs good racing to keep it interesting (which we aren't going to get by adding ridiculous levels of downforce)

 

[Celestiale]

Kubica would have been a possible but I believe he stated that he sustained such an injury in the Ronda Andora Rally that he would find it almost impossible to drive in F1 again. This hasn't stopped him driving rally cars but suggests that he drives them for that reason presumeably.

If they want to go for a Rally driver, they should go for Ogier. Million times more talented then Kubica, and due to VW withdraw currently out of job.

 

[Grand Tourist]

I vote for Vadim Kogay....there's no other like Kogay....I hope

 

[Leonardo Chaves]

Purely for my entertainment, i want Alonso, Vettel or Max in that seat.

Since Toto Wolff doesn't care much about how happy i am he's gona go with Bottas or Wehrlein.

 

[Mange Oberg]

Why not Felix Rosenqvist...

 

[Constantin Grimminger]

Sainz Jr isn't a bad shout. Toro Rosso is a dead end for him. He is ready for a top drive but he isn't going to get one at RB, who have sorted their lineup out for the next 5 years potentially (And Sainz won't wait five years.

You're absolutely right! And that's exactly Sainz jr.'s problem IMO, as Red Bull won't let him go.

 

[Andy 'Mars Bar' Graham]

You're absolutely right! And that's exactly Sainz jr.'s problem IMO, as Red Bull won't let him go.

Red Bull would let him go. They have the best young drivers program so they can easily replace him. Especially if he isn't part of their future plans

 

[Jap]

I'm my opinion it has to be Alonso, Mercedes have had two drivers who have pushed each other to extreme heights over the past three seasons of dominance. With the new regs next season and perhaps a hugely more competitive, maybe even slightly stronger Red Bull, Merc can not afford to drop a single point. Wehrlein will just not be good enough to compete amongst the top drivers, not yet. I think he would be slaughtered and it would be career suicide. Far too much pressure for him.

It has to be Alonso, surely. I also think Cheeky Nando will move heaven and earth to get this seat.

Finally, as much as I'd love to see it be Vettel, it would be a big risk to leave Ferrari now for short term, possible glory. If he went and Ferrari were better in 2018, they'd never have him back. Although I'd love to see it happen just to see who Ferrari would replace him with.

 

[paracletus]

Botass is probably the most likely, failed to like up to the hype this year though.
Vettel possibly, but also isn't showing much form - raikonnen looks to be doing a better job right now.
Raikonnen to mercedes?

 

[Jake Fangio]

I think it might be Vettel. He seems to be on the outer in Ferrari, he's German and he's a four time world champion. It'd be a good battle between himself and Hamilton

Mouth watering.But I'd love to see Alonso vs Hamilton 2.

 

[Jake Fangio]

Sterling Moss...

 

[SandroX]

 

[Qazdar Karim]

You forgot me.......

Seriously though....
PLEASE let it be Vettel.
LH needs to be taught that he's actually a nobody without Merc. Vettel is the guy to show him. Also, the pairing would make for some great TV.
Don't think it's gonna happen though.

I seriously think that Lewis would beat Vettel easily in the same car

 

[Ken Verhagen]

I think Lewis will do everything he can to prevent Wehrlein from getting the seat.

 

[Nick Hill]

I seriously think that Lewis would beat Vettel easily in the same car

I'm not so sure about "easily", but if I were to place a bet, it would definitely be on Hamilton in that scenario.

 

[Daniel Monteiro]

This is the spot that António Felix da Costa deserves and has been delayed for too long!

I am sure he would impress many and deliver proper results

 

[Andrew Harper]

Interesting reading all the comments about who would like to get the second seat.

The biggest issue is contracts, it's great to talk about Alonso, Bottas, etc. but it their contracts are water tight they are not going to be able to move to another team. My gut feeling is Alonso is tied into McLaren and he couldn't move even if he wanted to no matter how much money is thrown at the situation. Also Honda want him badly as their main driver so I reckon they would block any move he tried to make. Personally I do feel that Fernando will not want to drive alongside Lewis again either.

Bottas is a slight possibility but again his contract is watertight and he's tied to the team for 2017.

The only possibility is a driver that is linked to the Mercedes brand so you could say the most obvious choice will be Pascal Wehrlein. He's ran in the car, and he knows the team.

You could even say Mick Shumacher is a possibility if he was a little older and had more experience. F1 drivers are getting into the sport younger and younger so whereas a few years ago I would have thought it crazy to have someone of Max's age in an F1 car it now seems almost the norm.

Whoever it is they will probably be given a one year contract so that leaves the door open for someone like Alonso or Max to try and make a run for the seat in 2018.

If Nico had announced this in the middle of the season it would have possibly allowed some top names to go for his seat (performance related contracts would come into play) but with the timing it makes it very tough for anyone to move from another team unless an agreement is made (in other words a lot of money changes hands!)

There could still be a surprise. I always remember reading that Eddie Irvine was going to be Schumacher's teammate in 1996, well I never saw that one coming!

 

[Helmut Skrdla]

Actually its Carmen Jorda!
- age 28
- very experienced
- drove open wheeler car (GP3)
- was part of Lotus F1 as a development driver

posted a video of herself driving the Formula A f1 car in Project Cars
https://www.facebook.com/projectcarsgame/posts/905159746266528

I'm in love...

 

[burrito]

I'm in love...

So was the FOM world feed.