BREAKING NEWS: Reason why it doesn’t seem like Mercedes is getting any closer to choosing a driver to replace Lewis Hamilton when the current season ends.

 Reason why it doesn’t seem like Mercedes is getting any closer to choosing a driver to replace Lewis Hamilton when the current season ends.

Carlos Sainz appears to be out of the running for the open seat, but Mercedes doesn’t appear to be any closer to selecting a driver to take Lewis Hamilton’s spot at the end of the current season.

According to Craig Slater of Sky Sports, who wrote on Thursday, given Mercedes’s timeline for finding Hamilton’s replacement, the three-time Formula One winner is anticipated to go elsewhere.

According to Slater, Sainz “wants his contract situation sorted in the next few weeks rather than months,” and as a result, it is unlikely that he will be interested in the Mercedes position going forward.

“What prevents Carlos Sainz from joining Mercedes? According to what I hear, that discussion has already taken place, and Carlos Sainz’s personal preferences don’t align with Mercedes’s decision-making timeline,” Slater remarked.

Which raises the question of who else is likely to be the front-runner to replace Hamilton if Sainz withdraws from the race?

Naturally, Mercedes wants to lure Max Verstappen away from Red Bull, but if that’s not feasible, Slater claimed to have a “understanding” that Kimi Antonelli will be driving next season.