Lewis Hamilton says he would ‘love’ to see Sebastian Vettel return to Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton has described Sebastian Vettel as an ‘amazing option’ to replace him at Mercedes should the German driver shock the sport by coming out of retirement.
Vettel, whose tally of 53 race wins is only bettered by Hamilton, Michael Schumacher and Max Verstappen, revealed in an interview with the BBC that he has considered ending his two-year exile from the sport.
That has led to suggestions that the four-time World Champion would be a good fit for Mercedes with Hamilton heading to Ferrari for the 2025 season. And Vettel, it would appear, has Hamilton’s blessing.
‘I would love for Seb to come back. I think it would be an amazing option for the team,’ said Hamilton.
‘German driver, multiple World Championship-winning driver and someone who has got amazing values to help take this team forward.’
Lewis Hamilton says he would ‘love’ to see Sebastian Vettel return to Mercedes
Mercedes are looking for a new driver to replace Lewis Hamilton – with the Brit set to join Vettel’s old team Ferrari at the end of the season
However, Hamilton – who said he had given ‘zero’ thought to who his successor would be – suggested it may be beneficial for Mercedes to prioritise youth.
He said: ‘The only thing I really care about is that the team takes on someone that with integrity and that are 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, I don’t know because I’m 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.
Four-time F1 champion Vettel teased a possible return to the sport earlier this week
Vettel’s potential future Mercedes team-mate, George Russell, 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 team-mate, whether it’s a world champion or a rookie.’
While Hamilton’s future lies away from the Silver Arrows, the 39-year-old insists he remains as committed as ever to turn around a start to the 2024 season which he labelled as his ‘worst’ in Formula One.
Hamilton’s paltry return of just eight points from the opening three races represents his worst start to a season since 2009 and his misery was only compounded by a power unit issue that forced an early retirement at the Australia Grand Prix two weeks ago.
While the Brit admits, at some stage, he will need to start looking to the future with the Scuderia, for now his focus remains on getting Mercedes back to challenging at the front of the grid.
‘At some stage I will have to start the conversation with Toto (Wolff, team principal). I’ve never been in this position at this time of the year,’ he explained.
Vettel (pictured on the left), who retired from F1 at the end of the 2022 season, said he had been in talks with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff (pictured on the right)
‘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.’
