Readers of Express Sport have voted McLaren’s Lando Norris as the best driver to replace Lewis Hamilton, once the seven-time World Champion does eventually leave Mercedes.
Hamilton’s future has been a big talking point so far this season, due to the fact that the 38-year-old’s current deal expires this year.
A new contract is believed to be on the way though, with Hamilton having revealed during the Spanish Grand Prix that a meeting was scheduled to finalise a deal with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.
It’s been reported that Mercedes are going to offer Hamilton a one-year extension, taking him to the end of 2024.
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Should that be the case and Hamilton decides to leave the Silver Arrows next year, then Norris wouldn’t be able to replace him, due to the terms in his own contract.
The 23-year-old is contracted to McLaren until the end of 2025, with McLaren CEO Zak Brown having revealed that Norris doesn’t have an exit clause.
Should Hamilton retire before Norris’ McLaren deal expires, then Mercedes would have to look elsewhere.
They may not have to look very far though, with 17-percent of Express Sport readers having picked Mercedes reserve driver Mick Schumacher as the best replacement.
Schumacher recently drove the W14 for the first-time last Wednesday at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, as part of a Pirelli tyre test.
If Hamilton sticks with Mercedes until Norris’ deal is done, then 48-percent of readers think the McLaren ace is the best person to replace the 103-time race winner.
This would see Norris join the Silver Arrows for the first season of the new power unit regulations, where the pecking order could flip completely.
Norris recently addressed how he feels about being linked with the likes of Mercedes whilst still being under contract, with the Briton admitting that most of the time he’s “fine with it”.
“I’m at a point where it doesn’t affect me in any way,” said Norris in March, as reported by the Express.co.uk.
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“I guess I’m fine with it to an extent, apart from when it’s just complete BS that people try and come up with and completely fake stories that people make up. To a certain point, harsh criticism is acceptable. It makes sense.
“You don’t like it when it’s too much and people in the team start to get affected by it. Especially because maybe for some of them, they don’t understand so much or don’t know so many of the truths. But I think we do a good job within the team explaining things to people, telling them what’s going on, explaining my side of the story and things that go on with me, things that go on within teams.
“It’s tough, it’s the world we live in. It’s just media and what you’ve got to deal with sometimes. So, I’m fine with it, the team is fine with it.”