Two Names Of Lewis Hamilton's Candidates At Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton will leave Mercedes in F1 2025 (Instagram/@lewishamilton).

JAKARTA Mercedes has reportedly pocketed two names as a candidate to replace Lewis Hamilton to face the 2025 Formula One (F1) competition.

Hamilton, who is the current seven-time F1 world champion and major Mercedes driver, will spend his final season of the year before moving to Ferrari next season.

The departure of the British racer made Mercedes have to move to find a replacement. The two names that have emerged, namely Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Fernando Alonso.

The first name is touted as Mercedes' first choice. The Italian racer is considered the new Max Verstappen in the land jet world.

"There is a feeling from the team that he (Antonelli) is the new Verstappen," the Race report reads, as quoted by Crash.

Antonelli is currently 17 years old and will compete in Formula 2 for the first time this year. He is said to be in great demand by the head of the Mercedes team, Toto Wolff.

If Antonelli can immediately stand out then there is a very strong possibility that he will get a seat on the Mercedes team next year's competition season.

"He is in a junior program and his career is very successful. I think the most important thing at that stage is that he focuses on F2. I'd rather not start any speculation about Kimi entering F1 at this stage," Wolff said.

Meanwhile, Alonso is in second place for Mercedes. The Spaniard is currently at the dusk of F1's career.

Alonso, who is the current two-time world champion, is the oldest rider on the grid. He entered the second option likely to be selected by the team nicknamed The Silver Arrows following his contract with Aston Martin ending this year.