‘IT'S A DIFFICULT CHOICE BECAUSE..’: TOTO WOLFF ON POTENTIAL LEWIS HAMILTON REPLACEMENT FOR 2025

After two solid performances, Red Bull Racing faced a setback in Melbourne with Max Verstappen not finishing the Australian Grand Prix due to a right-rear brake failure. The situation benefited Carlos Sainz, who was making a comeback from appendicitis surgery after missing the Saudi Arabian GP. Having qualified second in Melbourne, Sainz passed polesitter Verstappen on turn nine of lap 2.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc secured second place behind Sainz, clinching a one-two finish for their team. This marked the first victory not achieved by Verstappen since Sainz's triumph at the previous year's Singapore Grand Prix.

This represented a significant turnaround from the 2023 Australian Grand Prix, where Leclerc's race ended in a first-lap crash. Sainz, who initially finished in fourth place, was later demoted to 12th place after incurring a five-second penalty for being involved in a collision.

Mecedes team principal, Toto Wolff, who shares a lasting friendship with Ferrari team principal Vasseur, believed that both the rival team and Italy earned the Scuderia's triumph. This sentiment came particularly because Vasseur had sustained an injury prior to last year's Melbourne event.

On the other hand, the Melbourne race was a challenging one for Mercedes, with both of their drivers unable to finish. Hamilton had to retire due to a power unit failure, while Russell's race ended with a significant crash towards the end. With Hamilton set to join Ferrari in 2025, Sainz faces the task of finding a new team, and rumors suggest Mercedes might be his next destination.

When questioned about who might partner up with Russell, Wolff mentioned that he didn't have any specific reasons to rule out Sainz or other possible choices, such as Verstappen and rising star Andrea Kimi Antonelli, for the role.

"The ones that are available or that could be interesting for us, they all have arguments in favour for them…" said Wolff, as quoted by motorsport.com.

"It's a difficult choice because it's not like there are KO criteria for one and everything points to the other one. So, I just want to do a step back and just monitor the situation because some of the guys you mentioned [Max, Carlos] may sign for other teams. So, just looking at it, he added.

After a disappointing race weekend, Wolff will expect a better performance from his team in Japan. Mercedes currently stands fourth in the constructor’s table with 26 points, while Red Bull still leads the table with 97 points.

2024-03-29T12:44:13Z dg43tfdfdgfd