Mercedes rushes to find Rosberg's replacement

If the announcement of the withdrawal of Nico Rosberg was a surprise for the management of Mercedes, the star manufacturer must now react quickly by choosing a replacement during the winter break.

Si Toto wolff, the executive director of Mercedes Motorsport, assured that he had received numerous calls, the choice is nevertheless difficult when the grid is practically completed and most of the contracts have already been signed.

Pascal Wehrlein, the Mercedes protégé, seems to hold a good place in the list of contenders for the position. “A season in F1, it's not much, but I feel ready to fulfill the mission, he assured during the Autosport awards ceremony last weekend in London. The decision is up to the directors. Toto's (Wolff) phone must have been hot since Friday, many drivers called him. My strong point is to have been the driver who drove the most with the 2017 prototype tires.”

His former teammate Esteban Ocon, also hatched by Mercedes, was announced at Force India in 2017, but the Frenchman still seems to be in the running for the reigning champion team.

The name of Fernando Alonso is also mentioned after the Asturian had a stormy experience with Lewis Hamilton when they were teammates at McLaren in 2007. Zak Brown, the new director of the British manufacturer, however, does not seem to want the Spaniard to leave.

“We have a contract with Fernando and he is very happy with it. He obviously wants to win races, but that scenario doesn’t worry me.”, indicated the replacement of Ron Dennis on Sky Sports.

Sebastian Vettel is also in a good position to replace Nico Rosberg while the Team Ferrari is struggling to reconnect with the forefront.

“I think it’s no secret that Kimi (Räikkönen) and I are under contract for next year. It should stay that way.”, nevertheless responded the quadruple world champion to Reuters agency.

As for Red Bull Racing, the Austrian team does not seem ready to want to give up one of its drivers. “Our pilots have long-term contracts”, Team Principal Christian Horner told the Sunday Mirror.

Niki Lauda, ​​the non-executive chairman of Mercedes GP, warned in an interview with the BBC that the German brand would have to make a decision before the end of the year.