MERCEDES may wait until the end of January before announcing Nico Rosberg’s replacement, with non-executive Niki Lauda admitting the team are yet to make a decision on who will take the world champion’s seat.
Rosberg, 31, shocked the sport when he decided to retire just five days after being crowned champion and it remains to be seen who will fill the German’s boots to team up with Lewis Hamilton for 2017.
The likes of Fernando Alonso, Valtteri Bottas and Pascal Wehrlein have all been linked with the drive, but Lauda says no decision has yet been made. “We are still making up our minds,” he told Austrian television channel ServusTV.
“That is a huge discussion, really. It can take until the end of January until we know which route we are going to take.
“We had hoped for a faster solution, but the discussions prove to be difficult. There are two scenarios – we take a young gun like Wehrlein who could turn out to be a (Max) Verstappen, or he couldn’t. Or we take an experienced guy.”
If Mercedes do wait that long, their new driver will be announced with less than two months to go until the start of the 2017 campaign.
One man who has ruled himself out of the running to replace Rosberg is Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz Jr.
The 22-year-old was another name touted as a potential Mercedes man, but the Spaniard said at a sponsor’s event in Madrid that he would not be moving from his current team.
“Who would not want to be in Mercedes?” he said.
“Is it a real choice? For 2017, no. I have my mind focused on Toro Rosso for 2017 but also to be in a big team in 2018. Most of all I would like it to be Red Bull, but I want to open as many doors as possible.”
Rosberg became the first reigning champion to retire since Alain Prost in 1993, having finally wrestled the title from Hamilton.
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