21 January 2024 , 07:00
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Sooner or later, Mercedes will have to adapt to life without Lewis Hamilton.
It seems they will have at least two more seasons with the seven-time world champion still leading the charge. He signed a new deal last year which will keep him with Mercedes and in Formula 1 until at least the end of 2025.
And, even though he will be almost 41 by the time this deal ends, there is no reason to assume that this contract will be his last. With eight podiums in 2023, Hamilton's old rival Fernando Alonso, aged 42, proved that age really is just a number.
But Mercedes know that he is not a long-term option and that they will one day have to fill his seat. Fortunately for them, they already have two drivers on the books who look well-placed to be called upon to step up when the time does eventually come.
One of them has been spoken about a lot in recent months. Andrea Kimi Antonelli has a burgeoning reputation at the age of 17, thanks to his performances in the junior categories, and is being spoken about as an F1 star of the future.
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Team principal Toto Wolff has spoken highly of the Italian but cautioned against building the teenager up too much. Despite that, Antonelli has skipped F3 entirely and has been handed a top Formula 2 seat with Prema for the upcoming 2024 season.
In that car, he will have the chance to prove his credentials in the category directly below F1. And, if he continues to impress in the next couple of years, there is no reason why he might not get his first shot on the grid for the 2026 season - which could be when Hamilton steps away.
And even if the seven-time world champion sticks around for longer, that would be no problem for the Italian. It might even be more beneficial for Mercedes for Antonelli to be blooded in F1 with a smaller team first before eventually making the step up, as George Russell did with a three-year spell at Williams.
Of course, there are a lot of things that might happen between now and then. Fortunately for Mercedes, if Antonelli ends up not being a viable option, they already have a very experienced F1 racer on the books. Even though he races for Alpine, head of the Silver Arrows driver programme Gwen Lagrue has revealed Esteban Ocon continues to be managed by Mercedes.
"He's still very linked to us. He's an Alpine driver and he's fully committed to Alpine, but we're still managing his career," Lagrue told The Race. "We have a very good relationship with Alpine and with others. And we always try to find the best solution to work together in the best interest of the team and the driver."