LEWIS HAMILTON has backed Sebastian Vettel to replace him at Mercedes when he quits for Ferrari next season.
The seven time world champion has decided to jump ship to get the best chance of winning a record eighth world title.
And that leaves a spot at Mercedes, where Vettel has emerged as a shock candidate to drive alongside George Russell.
Vettel, 36, retired at the end of the 2022 season, but is considering a comeback and has spoken with Merc boss Toto Wolff, with Hamilton thinking it is a great idea.
Speaking ahead of this week’s Japanese GP, Hamilton said: “I would love for Seb to come back. I think it would be an amazing option for the team.
“German driver, multiple world championship-winning driver and someone who has got amazing values to help take this team forward.”
However, Hamilton – who said he had given “zero” thought as to his replacement, reckons Mercedes should opt for a younger driver.
He added: “The only thing I really care about is that the team takes on someone with integrity and that is 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.
“And as drivers, there are some that are more selfish than others, there are some that are good drivers but perhaps not the best within the team environment.
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“I don’t know because I’ve not been in with all of them. But I hope they find someone great.
“They’ve already got George and he’s perfect so finding a good option alongside him I’m sure they’ve got so many good options.
“They’ve got so many options. I do think it’s always great to give an opportunity to up and coming drivers so the idea of a youngster coming in for me is exciting.”
Russell was also quizzed about Vettel’s return and added: “His personality is missed on the grid and I think it’s important we have the best 20 drivers in the world competing for race wins and championships.
“I’m really open and happy to have anyone as my teammate, whether it’s a world champion or a rookie.”
Meanwhile, Hamilton, who by his own admission has made his worst start to a season, says he will soon start negotiating with Ferrari about their plans for 2025.
First though he has to clear it with Merc boss Wolff and until then says he is committed to helping turn the team around.
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He said: “At some stage I will have to start the conversation with Toto. I’ve never been in this position at this time of the year.
“When I was leaving McLaren it was towards the end of the season. I had my first seat fit [at Mercedes] after the season was done.
“I’m not quite sure how to navigate it but right now I want to finish on a high here so all my energy is going into this. Of course there’s excitement for the future.
“Right now we’re going through a difficult phase, that’s my challenge and where all my energy is going to try and figure out how we can get ourselves back to the top.
“I’m a competitor first and foremost so I want to win. Thinking about next year is not going to help me do that.”
WHO COULD REPLACE HAMILTON AT MERCEDES?
Mercedes will have a vacant seat for 2025.
Here, SunSport’s F1 correspondent Ben Hunt looks at FIVE potential candidates who could replace him and partner George Russell in the Silver Arrows.
Oscar Piastri– McLaren have sewn up Lando Norris to a new long-term contract that should (in theory) put him out of Mercedes’ reach. However, they are yet to tie down his teammate Piastri, 22. The Aussie has an excellent record and won the Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles before spending a year on the sidelines with Alpine and getting his chance in F1 with McLaren. He impressed on his debut season last year and has the potential to be a world champion.
Daniel Ricciardo– The experienced driver’s future remains in doubt as he bides his time at Red Bull’s B-team. Ricciardo would be low-hassle and offer some stability but by that time he would be 35. It seems unlikely that they would opt for him at this point in his career, but if he has a good season this year, he could come into the reckoning.
Kimi Antonelli– You may not have heard of the Italian, but he is mustard. Still only 17, he has won at all the junior categories and has been part of the Mercedes young driver programme since 2019. This season he has been promoted from F4 to F2, where he has been tipped to shine. A good debut season in F2 could sway Mercedes into taking a risk on him for 2025. Antonelli and his family are close to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.
Mick Schumacher – Wolff has always been so incredibly supportive of Schumacher and spoken highly of him, that you’d at least expect him to come into consideration. He knows the team from his role as reserve driver and consequently would get up to speed. But speed is also the problem. He was shocking at Haas and if he really was THAT good, he’d still be driving in F1.
Alex Albon– A more-sensible choice would be the London-born Albon. A great guy who is also very quick. He has a fantastic relationship with Russell and would be the low-maintenance quick partnership similar to Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas that swept to successive titles. Albon would take little convincing to join from Williams and Mercedes would not need to pay him half of the £50million they were dishing out to Hamilton.