Lewis Hamilton: Sebastian Vettel would be ‘amazing option’ to replace me at Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton believes Sebastian Vettel would be an “amazing option” to replace him at Mercedes next year, with team-mate George Russell also welcoming the potential return of the four-time world champion.
Vettel, who retired at the end of the 2022 season, created a stir on Wednesday when he told Sky that he was contemplating a return to the grid as he “missed the competition”.
It is understood he has been sounded out by Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff as a possible back-up option to replace Ferrari-bound Hamilton, with Vettel revealing he had spoken to multiple team principals about a possible return.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s grand prix in Suzuka, where Mercedes will be hoping for a far smoother weekend than the one they experienced in Melbourne last time out, when both he and Russell failed to finish, Hamilton said he could understand where Vettel was coming from.
“No, I’ve never thought about taking a year or two off and then coming back,” he said when asked whether he could imagine doing what other drivers such as Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher have done. “When I’m gone, hopefully I’m gone for good. [But] you’re always going to miss it. It’s the greatest sport in the world and it’s the greatest experience in the world and the most amazing feeling to be working with the people towards winning something.
“Probably there’s nothing that’s ever going to feel the same.”
Asked about the possibility of Vettel, who has recently had a test with Porsche that could see him race at Le Mans later this summer, replacing him at Mercedes next season, Hamilton added: “I would love for Seb to come back and I think it would be an amazing option for the team.
“A German driver, multi-world championship winning driver, and someone who has amazing values who would continue to take the team forward. I’d love it if he came back.”
Vettel remains an outside bet for Mercedes, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz or F2 rookie Kimi Antonelli seen as far more likely options if Wolff is unable to snare Red Bull’s world champion Max Verstappen. Hamilton said he just wanted to see “someone with integrity” replace him.
“The only thing I really care about is that the team takes on someone with integrity,” said the seven-time world champion. “Someone aligned with the team and where the team’s going. Someone compassionate that’s able to work with great people and continues to lift them up. There’s so many great people in this team.”
Russell said he was open to driving alongside Vettel if that was who the team went with, saying the German was “missed on the grid”.
“Sebastian’s a great person and he’s a four-time world champion and, for sure, his personality is missed on the grid,” he said. “It’s important that we have the best 20 drivers in the world all competing for race wins and championships.
“I’m really happy and open to have anybody as my team-mate, you know, whether it’s a world champion, whether it’s a rookie. It doesn’t change how I go about my business. And, yeah, as I said, we’ll welcome anybody.”
