Mercedes in the (open) hot seat - Formula 1 Australian GP

Hot potato hot potato! Who will win the seat at Mercedes? Is it even worth having? So many questions to be answered this season and we are just getting started.

Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Two races in, and losing ground already are Mercedes. Things certainly do not bode well for the Australian Grand Prix this weekend, unless of course the Mighty Merc team have done some serious data analysis over the two week break. The car was bouncy according to both George and Lewis in Jeddah, and thus losing lots of grip in the high speed corners. Not to mention still not on pace in the straights with the cars ahead, so a whirlwind of time lost each and every lap. It's a problem that harkens back to the 'zero' side pod days of yesteryear, and well that's a definite issue. Somehow, and in some way, the team needs to address and fix those issues over the next two races or else it's pretty much lights out for the season, and not in a good way.

So where does this leave not only Lewis Hamilton, but his upcoming vacant seat? For Lewis, he will be second on the upgrade list, second on the fix it list, and well, second in catering to on any particular weekend for race strategy as well, unless he qualifies ahead of George. Frustrating? Certainly. The ideal situation of course is the car runs great weekend to weekend and both Lewis and George are fighting for podiums. Reality is, Lewis may very well be fighting with a un-competitive car to hang on to enough points to keep him in the top 5 for the driver's championship. Not a great outlook for the 7* time champ (* should be 8, suck it Verstappen)

So how does that make the vacant seat for the 2025 look to the crowd of available drivers? Not as bright and as shiny as one would have felt some years ago, but they are still a top 4 team (sorry Aston Martin fans, I still have you at number 5 though). The news of the past few days has been about Carlos Sainz and his team meeting with Mercedes about running with them for next season. A solid choice in my humble opinion, and for me it comes down to him or Kimi Antonelli, or even Oscar Bearman if he becomes available to Mercedes instead of Antonelli. Do they stick with the savvy veteran in Sainz to complete their one two punch and get back to the front in a more educated manner? Or do they throw caution to the wind with the hot soup of the day choices in Antonelli and Bearman?

The difference will be in what Mercedes has planned for the development of the 2026 car when the regulations change, and we start fresh again. Who, or what type driver will be better suited when it comes to a new car, with new developments, and a new learning curve? Can two rookie choices get up to speed enough over one season in the best version of this current regulation car? Remember, Antonelli skipped over F3 and went straight to F2 this season. So who's to say he wouldn't make great strides over the course of just one season? Or will it be better to take the seasoned Spaniard despite the fact he was booted from the Scuderia in favor of Hamilton?

It's an interesting choice either way. Mercedes fans better strap in because it's still going to be a bouncy ride!