‘The big name that they need’ - Mercedes’ ‘Plan B’ option to replace Lewis Hamilton

Sky Sports F1 pundit Ted Kravitz sees Mercedes opting for either Andrea Kimi Antonelli or Fernando Alonso as they look to replace Lewis Hamilton in 2025.

Mercedes have a vacancy for 2025 alongside George Russell after Hamilton’s bombshell move to Ferrari was announced earlier this month.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has insisted that the team are in no rush to make a decision amid a host of names linked with the seat.

Antonelli and Alonso have been heavily linked, while Alex Albon, Carlos Sainz and Esteban Ocon are thought to be in the running.

In a recent Q&A on the Sky Sports F1 website, Kravitz gave his opinion on who is likely to replace the seven-time world champion in 2025.

“There are so many options for Mercedes and quite a lot of them are quite good,” Kravitz wrote. “Obviously the most exciting from Mercedes’ point of view is to put Andrea Kimi Antonelli in the car, because they feel he is the next Max Verstappen or Charles Leclerc, he's that promising.

“At the same time, they'll only know that when he completes at least half a full Formula 2 season, and I believe Toto Wolff when he says that we have to be careful to treat him like a 17-year-old still growing up and not try to rush him too early. It might do more harm than good.

“But that's clearly their number one priority. They don't have Williams as a junior team to put Antonelli in. Williams have made it pretty clear that they're not in that game for Antonelli, they’re not going to be the university for him in the way they were for George Russell.

“I think that makes it probably most likely that they'll go with Antonelli because they don't want to see him go to another team, but it does depend on his on his F2 season.”

Kravtiz believes Alonso - who is currently at Aston Martin - would be a “very good shout” and a “like for like” Hamilton replacement.

“But Plan B, Alonso is a very, very good shout. Just replacing like for like, a guy who's nearing the end of his career but could have as much as two or three years left at the top of his game.

“He would just be a big name that they need. It's like when he replaced (Sebastian) Vettel at Aston Martin. Lawrence (Stroll) had the right idea. A world champion leaves you, you've got to replace him with a bigger name or a big a name, another world champion.

“And it's the same for Hamilton. And it would give the team more spring in their step to know that they've got Alonso in rather than someone who hasn't won a championship.”