Steiner hands Mercedes advice in Hamilton replacement hunt

Guenther Steiner has revealed when he believes Mercedes should pick a replacement for the departing Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton will leave the Silver Arrows after 11 years together to join Ferrari for 2025.

Two years without a race victory left the Brit hungry for a new project, but also means that the German manufacturer have a big hole to fill in one of their cars.

There are plenty of options on the market, with a plethora of drivers out of contract soon – affording Toto Wolff the opportunity to pick between experience and speed.

Candidates mentioned range from Esteban Ocon to Andrea Kimi Antonelli and even Sebastian Vettel – which could bring around one of the biggest shakeups to the grid in history.

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Steiner: Toto's in a very good position

Former Haas boss Guenther Steiner believes that Toto Wolff is doing the right thing by waiting to make a decision.

“I think he’s looking for speed, somebody consistent, but also somebody maybe for the future,” he said. “Toto’s in a very good position, because nothing will move until he moves.

“Obviously they have got the young driver Kimi Antonelli in Formula 2, which he’s a prodigy of Mercedes since, I don’t know how many years.

“Maybe he’s a talent like Max Verstappen, which came out of the old Formula 3 straight into Formula 1. If Kimi can do the same, I think Toto can take the gamble because he’s about the same age.

“Otherwise, he has got older drivers without a contract he can pick from and he’s in no hurry because none of these guys will make a move before that seat is full. Why would they? I would wait. I would do the same as Toto, I would wait!”

READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: Mercedes pushing Russell, NOT Hamilton insists F1 champion

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