Posted on 3rd December 2016
Yesterday afternoon saw the 2016 Formula One Drivers Champion Nico Rosberg announcing his retirement from Formula One less than a week after being crowned world champion in Abu Dhabi.
As a result of this, Rosberg's announcement that he will be retiring immediately from Formula One as seen a lot of speculation especially on social media as to which direction will the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team go with regards to their driver line up for the 2017 season.
As we have seen in the past few seasons, the driver market has been at its most active in the second half of the season with all the drivers and teams look to their futures and begin to plan for a successful season hopefully for the following year. But the 2016 season has been similar; with many of the teams announcing their driver line ups with the only seats to be filled for next year would be the empty ones at Sauber and Manor.
But the curveball of Rosberg announcing his retirement as now powered the driver market and the seat many drivers could dream of has become available. Contracts in Formula One are there to be made, but they are also there to be broken as well. Mercedes have already stated in a statement to the press yesterday afternoon that they will be exploring various options with regards to their driver line for next season and won't be rushed into a decision that could backfire on them.
As we know from a famous legend of the sport (Mr Murray Walker), anything can happen in Formula One as it usually does. And I think we are going to get that in the next few weeks. But at the moment, here's my top five candidates for the Mercedes drive and my reasons why they are in the running for the vacant Mercedes seat for the 2017 season.
Pascal Wehrlein
Pascal Wehrlein for me as to be the favourite of securing the vacant Mercedes seat for the 2017 season. Wehrlein has got experience on his side both with the Mercedes team during testing but also within Formula One with Manor this season. And this could be used to Mercedes' advantage.
This season saw Wehrlein in his rookie season scoring a point for the team on merit in Austria. Wehrlein also had a very notable performance in Bahrain finishing 13th in just in his second race. In qualifying, in particular, Wehrlein has impressed making Q2 on six occasions and out-qualifying his teammate at 16 of the 21 races.
With many believing that Wehrlein should have got the seat at Force India instead of fellow Mercedes junior driver Esteban Ocon; this could be the chance for Pascal to get himself in with a manufactured backed team, justifies their young driver programme and also allows him to the chance to learn from an experienced and fast team mate in Lewis Hamilton but also allows Mercedes to invest in a very capable and talented driver for the long term future when Hamilton decides to eventually retire from the sport.
Therefore, with Ocon looking at the moment set to continue to development in the midfield, it makes sense to give Pascal the first chance to prove his worth. With many posing the question of is Wehrlein 100% ready to step into a championship-contending car? No driver can be prepared for that, just look at Daniil Kvyat or Max Verstappen when they made the jump to Red Bull, yet one beat Daniel Ricciardo in the standings in 2015 and the other won his first race with the team.
With many teams now starting to realise that the pool of young, fresh talent coming into Formula One are more than capable of stepping up to the mark in their own right despite their age or some case lack of experience in the junior formulae, Wehrlein is in a better position than most. And I truly believe that if he was given the chance, he would grab it with both hands and would be keen to reward the team in the process.
Esteban Ocon
When 2015 GP3 Champion Esteban Ocon replaced Rio Haryanto at the Belgian Grand Prix this season, many people (including myself) have been impressed with how he has settled into the sport and has shown that when everything comes together, he can beat his fellow rookie team mate Pascal Wehrlein on the track.
However when the news was announced that he would be partnering Sergio Perez at Force India for the 2017 season, many people were left puzzled as to why Wehrlein was surpassed. Let us not forget that Ocon is a GP3 Champion in his own right and last season Ocon showed raw speed and talent to achieve this, he also has experience testing with the Mercedes team and know how they operate behind closed doors which could also go to his advantage.
In my personal opinion, I think Ocon despite being a very valid choice for the Mercedes team needs a bit more experience under his belt before moving up the ladder to a more competitive team and I believe that Force India is the best place for him and his career at the moment. But with Ocon already surpassing Wehrlein at the moment with regards to the current driver market, Mercedes could do that again and give him one of the most competitive seats on the grid for 2017. That is a very real possibility and could happen.
Valteri Bottas
The situation with Valtteri Bottas is an interesting one and he could now find himself in the running for the vacant seat. When Bottas entered the sport in his debut season in 2013, he impressed everyone with a stunning drive at the US Grand Prix and carried this momentum on into the next two years with the Williams team (who run Mercedes engines).
But with Bottas over the past few seasons being linked to the Ferrari team, there is no denying that Bottas has the potential, speed and talent to become a future world champion and in my view, he is heading into the 2017 season with what I feel could be his last chance to show the spark that we all saw back in 2014 especially.
And this is where it gets interesting. Bottas is managed by Head of Mercedes Benz Toto Wolff in conjunction with 1998 & 1999 F1 Champion Mika Hakkinen and the vacant seat left at Mercedes could be Bottas' only chance to be in a competitive car and achieve the success that he would like in his career.
So if this was to happen; what would happen with regards to the driver market? If Bottas was to go to Mercedes, there would be a vacant seat at Williams. It would make logical sense for Wehrlein to go to Williams to partner rookie Lance Stroll as then Williams would have two hungry, youthful drivers (even though Wehrlein has more experience under his belt) who would be eager to learn, thrive and be developed in a team that has helped Bottas become the driver that he is today.
This situation if it was to happen would not only benefit Mercedes with a driver like Bottas who has F1 experience under his belt but has the talent to become a world champion and it would also benefit their driver programme as Wehrlein would still be promoted further up the grid with one of the best teams on the grid, they would be looking long term for when Hamilton or Bottas (if he gets the seat) retires.
But it would also benefit Williams as they could gain financially with regards to the costs of running Mercedes engines. It's something to think about isn't after reading that?
Nico Hulkenberg
You may laugh at this suggestion but hear me out. As we know Nico Hulkenberg has already committed himself to a long term deal with Renault starting next season and leaving the Force India team that has only cemented his reputation in the paddock that if Hulkenberg was to get a more competitive drive, he would no doubt be a champion of the future.
And I stand by that 100%. Hulkenberg in the past has been linked to Williams, Ferrari and McLaren and that to me is a reflection of how much Hulkenberg is respected in the paddock and how seriously his talented is viewed. Let's not forget that Hulkenberg won Le Mans on his debut attempt, so imagine if Hulkenberg was to get the chance to drive one of the most competitive cars on the grid and won the first race in Melbourne in his first race with Mercedes. It's so tempting.
But now with Mercedes having a vacant seat, it would be stupid of Nico and his management seat not to look at this seriously. Imagine this, Hulkenberg and Hamilton at Mercedes. Both drivers have vast experience, proven track records of beating their team mates and would be a great marketing opportunity for the Mercedes Benz brand in both Germany and Britain.
The only stumbling block would be Hulkenberg's contract with the Renault team but I am sure that could be easily rectified with a payout or with a pay out and even offering the services of Pascal Wehrlein (if Wehrlein doesn't get the Mercedes seat and say Ocon does) as compensation. It's not an option to rule out just yet.
Two very very silm chances- Fernando Alonso and Lando Norris
Rosberg's shock retirement has started many people sharing their opinions and options on social media. Unsurprisingly the most common name mentioned is Fernando Alonso with the Spaniard desperate to win a third world title and currently finding himself in an uncompetitive McLaren, this could be Alonso's best chance to do so.
I have to say it would be amazing to see both Hamilton and Alonso battling in the Mercedes team together in 2017. Would be a repeat of 2007? Very well could be; but it could have disastrous consequences that could hinder the progression of both of the drivers and also of the Mercedes team in meeting their personal and team objectives.
But with regards to Alonso, let's not forget he is under contract to McLaren until the end of next season and has what it is rumoured to have a £34 million buy- out clause and with Ron Dennis earlier this season stating “he is not for saleâ€, I would be shocked if Mercedes would be willing to part with that much money for Alonso when he could retire within the two years and denied a young driver such as Wehrlein a chance to do a Michael Schumacher. Alonso to Mercedes- not gonna happen!!!
With regards to Lando Norris, he is without a shadow of a doubt a talent of the future. I have watched his progression in the junior formulae this season and I have been so impressed with his speed and talent and could be my outside chance for the Mercedes seat in 2017.
You are all thinking what she is talking about? Is the hype around Norris justified? A little bit of background on Lando here to convince you. Norris started his racing career at the age of seven when he claimed pole position at his first national event. He is still to this date the youngest driver to achieve pole position at a national meeting.
In 2013, Norris won in the World Karting Championships held in Bahrain, the WSK Euro Series and the CIK FIA European and CIK FIA Supercup titles. The following year he won the CIK–FIA KF World Championship and made him the youngest karting world championship winner.
In 2014, Norris made his debut in the Ginetta Junior Championship, a support series to the BTCC series where he finished third overall and won the Rookie Cup in his first year out of karts. For 2015, Norris signed with Carlin Motorsport to drive in the newly established MSA Formula series. Norris would win the series with eight wins, ten pole positions and 14 podiums.
He also made occasional appearances in the ADAC Formula 4 Championship and the Italian Formula 4 Championship with Mucke Motorsport where he enjoyed even more successes, picking up six podiums from eight starts in the former and a single podium in the latter.
For the 2016 season, Norris drove for M2 Competition in the Toyota Racing Series in New Zealand. Norris achieved six wins throughout the season, including the New Zealand Grand Prix and won the championship on his first attempt. Norris also took part in Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup and Formula Renault 2.0 NEC series driving for Josef Kaufmann Racing as well as embarking on a campaign in the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship with Carlin.
I seriously do believe that everything Norris has achieved so far in his career has been amazing and I have no doubt that if Norris was to take the final seat at Mercedes, he would be a great investment for the Mercedes team. They would have a young driver who has the talent to go all the way and would be willing and eager to learn from a team mate like Hamilton which would be valuable i driver. Norris has the slimmest chance to gain the seat but I would be immensely happy if he got it.
So in conclusion, the five candidates that I believe that are in contention for the vacant seat at Mercedes next season have their advantages and disadvantages. But if you was to ask me right here, right now which driver has got the best chance to gain the vacant seat left by Rosberg? I would have to say Pascal Wehrlein. The most outside chance? Has to be Lando Norris.
It'll be interesting over the next few weeks which direction Mercedes will take driver wise for 2017 but whatever direction it is, they have to think about the long term future of the team and which driver carries the talent, passion, drive, commitment and more importantly speed for them to achieve their long term plans in the sport.
Sarah Jones- @jonesy_laaa
