Wolff reflects on Hamilton's replacement: 'Then we will announce'

A few years ago, Jerome D'Ambrosio was destined to eventually succeed Toto Wolff as Mercedes team boss. But after working for a period as Driver Development Director, the Belgian is now on his way out. Earlier, GPblog received confirmation from Mercedes that the former Virgin and Lotus Formula 1 driver is leaving Mercedes after 2024. He will reportedly start working in a similar role at Ferrari.

But Toto Wolff revealed in Saudi Arabia that no decision has yet been made on the 38-year-old's future. "I think he's with us at the moment and the situation is more personal reasons that he's evaluating the options of what to do," the Austrian team boss said. "And I think it's something we should speak about. But all is good. We'll see where that goes."

So Wolff is not letting on about an imminent departure to Ferrari for the French-speaking Belgian. Nor is it already clear which driver will replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes after this season. Wolff already indicated he is keeping an eye on the situation surrounding Max Verstappen at Red Bull, as the Austrian would love to see the world champion come to his team. Wolff has more options than just Verstappen.

"We're going to wait. We have a few interesting options. And the more we are able to assess how the season pans out, young drivers, whether, again, slightly older ones. That's not going to be a decision which we want to take in the next few weeks. It's rather a few months, depending on where it goes," Wolff said.