Formula 1: What is Mercedes’ driver lineup of the future?

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport have the second oldest driver lineup in Formula 1. What does their driver lineup of the future look like?

Since the start of the V6 turbo hybrid era in Formula 1, only Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport have won constructor championships, as they have won each of the five titles that have been decided from the 2014 season up until now.

However, the driver lineup of the five-time reigning constructor champions is the second oldest driver lineup in the sport behind the lineup of Alfa Romeo Sauber (second by just 340 combined days among drivers), meaning that it will likely be overhauled in the very near future.

Five-time champion Lewis Hamilton, 33, has driven for the team since the 2013 season when he replaced seven-time champion Michael Schumacher while Valtteri Bottas, 29, has driven for the team since the 2017 season when he replaced 2016 champion Nico Rosberg.

Hamilton signed a two-year contract extension to remain with Mercedes through the 2020 season this past summer, but he has hinted in the past that he may be retiring sooner rather than later, albeit not too soon, meaning the 2020 season may very well be his final season driving for the Silver Arrows and perhaps in Formula 1.

Here is what he had to say about the matter when discussing it last year, according to ESPN.

"“I think about what is ahead of me. I have spoken to those who have retired early, those who retired late and everyone says stay in as long as you can. That’s not going to happen. The seasons are getting longer and longer and you see the things I do outside, which take a lot of my energy and time. I’m enjoying what I’m doing now. I enjoy being with this team, I love racing and I still feel at the moment I’m driving at my best."

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Meanwhile, Bottas is coming off of a very disappointing winless season that has caused many to believe that he is on the hot seat going into the 2019 season after signing a one-year contract with an additional one-year option to remain with the team through the 2019 season but not necessarily the 2020 season.

No matter how you look at it, Mercedes have been by far and away the best team in the sport in the V6 turbo hybrid era, but their driver lineup will likely experience a major shakeup in the very near future, which will likely result in two younger drivers becoming instant championship contenders.

Who will those two drivers be? Look no further than Mercedes junior drivers Esteban Ocon, 22, and George Russell, 20.

Ocon has competed in Formula 1 for three seasons, of which two he spent as a full-time driver for Sahara Force India after he test drove for Mercedes in the 2016 season and drove part-time for Manor Racing MRT.

The 2014 Formula 3 European Championship and 2015 GP3 Series champion is not set to compete in Formula 1 next season, but he is set to be the Mercedes reserve and test driver, which puts him in a prime position to replace Bottas as early as the 2020 season if Bottas cannot perform at a high enough level to warrant the team extending his contract for at least one more season.

Russell, meanwhile, was signed by Williams Racing for the 2019 season, and that happened despite the fact that Ocon was one of the primary contenders to land a ride with the team since he was set to be (and now has been) replaced at Force India (now Racing Point) by Lance Stroll, the son of Lawrence Stroll, the billionaire Canadian investor who led the consortium to purchase the team this past summer and previously spent $80 million to get his son a ride with Williams.

The 2014 BRDC Formula 4 Championship, 2017 GP3 Series and 2018 Formula 2 Championship champion has never competed in Formula 1 before, but he did test drive for Mercedes in the 2017 and 2018 seasons.

Hamilton hinted last year that Russell could be the driver who will eventually replace him and that he could do so as early as the 2021 season, and this would make perfect sense considering Hamilton’s new contract extension runs through the 2020 season.

Here is what he had to say about the matter, according to ESPN.

"“While the car is in this form of rules until 2021 at least, I think that’s going to be the window I’m still here. Who knows? Maybe in 2021 I’ll hand the baton over to [Mercedes junior] George [Russell]. He’ll be there anyway before then. I’m going to keep going.”"

For how many more Formula 1 seasons will Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas drive for Mercedes? Will Esteban Ocon and George Russell end up replacing them? If not, which two drivers will end up being their replacements?