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Formula One: Which drivers will drive for Mercedes and Ferrari in 2019?

By Asher Fair

MONTMELO, SPAIN - MAY 14: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes F1 WO8 leads Sebastian Vettel of Germany driving the (5) Scuderia Ferrari SF70H on track during the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix at Circuit de Catalunya on May 14, 2017 in Montmelo, Spain. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
MONTMELO, SPAIN - MAY 14: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes F1 WO8 leads Sebastian Vettel of Germany driving the (5) Scuderia Ferrari SF70H on track during the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix at Circuit de Catalunya on May 14, 2017 in Montmelo, Spain. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) /
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SUZUKA, JAPAN – OCTOBER 08: Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
SUZUKA, JAPAN – OCTOBER 08: Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) /

Projected 2019 driver lineup

Mercedes

Max Verstappen

Mercedes would be smart to pursue the young 20-year-old Max Verstappen to drive for the team in the 2019 season and perhaps for even more than a decade down the road as well. One thing that may prevent this from happening is the fact that Verstappen’s current contract with Red Bull Racing does not expire until the end of the 2019 season, and the team insists that there are no opt-out clauses in it despite the fact that there has been speculation otherwise.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has already admitted that he wants to sign Verstappen, and for the 2019 season no less even though Verstappen reportedly has a no opt-out contract with Red Bull Racing that extends through that season according to team boss Christian Horner. While the price would be steep for Mercedes to effectively take Verstappen away from Red Bull Racing, they should and would most likely be willing to pay it seeing as how the potential payoff is massive.

The potential that Verstappen has as a Formula One driver is extremely high, and that has shown through already, especially given the fact that he won at Spain last year as an 18-year-old and won another race this season at Malaysia to prove that his first career victory was in no way, shape or form a fluke. Even though he has constantly had to deal with an unreliable race car, he has gotten the most out of it and has still performed at a high level.

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