Russell best option for Mercedes: 'Thinking about future after Hamilton'

Mercedes have extended Lewis Hamilton's contract and now have to look at who will join him in 2022. Ralf Schumacher can't imagine that Hamilton has had it written into his contract who will be his teammate.

Hamilton will stay with Mercedes until 2023, continuing his pursuit of Michael Schumacher's record number of world titles. Since 2017 Hamilton has been doing this together with Valtteri Bottas, and that suits the Brit. He would like to keep Bottas as his teammate, but George Russell is already banging on the door at Mercedes.

Young talent alongside Hamilton

''I can't imagine Hamilton has much say in that. I believe Mercedes has to think about the future after Hamilton. So I can imagine that George Russell looks like the new driver. There are not many drivers on the market. Not at all because I don't think Valtteri Bottas is really an option for Mercedes anymore,'' Schumacher said in his column for Sky Germany.

''The team is starting to think about the time after Hamilton. Two years is over quickly in Formula One and it takes a lot of time for a driver to grow within the team. So it is important to put a young driver like Russell next to Hamilton. One thing is clear: Even though a driver is fast, he still needs to get used to the team and that takes time'', concludes the former Formula One driver.