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Formula 1: 4 drivers who could drive for Mercedes in 2020

By Asher Fair

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 29: Valtteri Bottas driving the (77) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W10 on track during practice for the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 29, 2019 in Bahrain, Bahrain. (Photo by Charles Coates/Getty Images)
BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 29: Valtteri Bottas driving the (77) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W10 on track during practice for the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 29, 2019 in Bahrain, Bahrain. (Photo by Charles Coates/Getty Images) /
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BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN – MARCH 30: Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN – MARCH 30: Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) /

Max Verstappen

In terms of the most intriguing candidate to drive for Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton’s teammate in the 2020 season, Max Verstappen tops that list by far. The fact that he is even somehow in this discussion is intriguing enough.

The 21-year-old Dutchman has driven for Red Bull Racing since the fifth race of the 21-race 2016 season, and he signed a contract in October of 2017 to continue driving for the team through the 2020 season.

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However, Red Bull Racing manager Helmut Marko recently revealed that Verstappen’s contract has a performance clause in it, meaning that if the Milton Keynes-based team do not provide him with a car capable of winning this year’s championship, he is free to pursue other options.

On Verstappen’s part, there may not be much pursuing, as Mercedes team principal and CEO Toto Wolff has already reportedly tried to lure the rising star to the Silver Arrows by contacting both him and his father, former Formula 1 driver Jos Verstappen, on several occasions over the last few months. Jos denied that Wolff has reached out to Max, but he admitted that Wolff has called him from time to time and hinted that what Marko stated about the performance clause is true.

Verstappen is considered by many fans to be a future Formula 1 champion, and the fact that he had earned the first five victories of his career at the age of 21 years and 28 days old, an age at which no other driver in the history of the sport has even earned one victory, supports that idea.

Additionally, unlike Ocon and Russell, Verstappen has already been a proven contender for race wins for several seasons driving for one of Formula 1’s three top-tier teams, so making the switch to Mercedes wouldn’t be a huge change for him like it would be for either one of those two young Mercedes-affiliated drivers.

If Verstappen ends up becoming available following the conclusion of the 2019 season, Mercedes would have no reason not to pursue him, and Verstappen would have no reason not to sign with the team if given the opportunity to do so.

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Who will end up being Lewis Hamilton’s teammate at Mercedes in the 2020 Formula 1 season? Will it be one of these four top candidates? If so, will it be Valtteri Bottas, Esteban Ocon, George Russell or Max Verstappen? The 2019 season is still young, so don’t expect to know the answers to these questions for another several months.

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