Formula 1: Toto Wolff reveals Mercedes not considering rival drivers for 2019

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport executive director Toto Wolff revealed that the team are not considering hiring rival drivers for the 2019 Formula 1 season.

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport executive director Toto Wolff has stated that the team are not considering hiring rival drivers for the 2019 Formula 1 season, meaning that there are three, maybe four, primary candidates to drive for the team next year.

The contracts of both of the team’s current drivers, four-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, are set to expire at the end of this season, meaning new contracts will have to be signed by drivers with the team ahead of next season regardless of who the two drivers are who end up being the drivers to sign those contracts.

Here is what Wolff had to say about who the team are potentially looking to sign, according to ESPN.

"“We are not looking at drivers outside of Mercedes at the moment because, first of all, we need to give our support to our two guys, that’s the priority. It’s like if you’re happy with your wife, you don’t look elsewhere! We are with our two wives — or three [including Ocon] — and we are not looking at that.“Give us a few more races, [let us] start the European season properly, go to Canada, and then the intense July, and I will have a better view. It’s a good problem to have. We are very satisfied with how Valtteri has been going these days and Lewis we don’t need to talk about — he’s the best of the current drivers in my opinion and then you have these kids growing up like Ocon and George. I am optimistic about the future Mercedes line-up.”"

Wolff also stated that the team do plan to re-sign Hamilton to a new contract but that they simply have not had the time to discuss a new deal with him, so it would seem safe to say that one of their two drivers will end up being Hamilton for the seventh consecutive season next year.

For Bottas, whether or not he signs a new contract with the team will depend on how he performs throughout the rest of the season. If he continues to perform at a high level, the team would have no reason not to re-sign him. After all, he would be leading the championship standings had it not been for the late puncture that his right rear tire sustained in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last Sunday.