A return brewing? Mercedes hint at who could join the team

While Mercedes has already secured a replacement for Lewis Hamilton following his move to Ferrari, the team is now focusing on filling the reserve driver spot—and the choice may lead to an unexpected comeback.

Details: A post on Mercedes' X account featured the caption, "What's next?" accompanied by an image silhouette that strongly hints at the return of Valtteri Bottas.

For the 35-year-old Finnish driver, Mercedes is a familiar team, having raced for them from 2017 to 2021. During his tenure, Bottas secured two second-place finishes in the Drivers’ Championship and twice ended the season in third place.

Reminder: Bottas’ most recent team was Kick Sauber, where he endured a tough 2024 season alongside Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu. Neither driver scored a single point, and both left the team at the end of the season. Mercedes, on the other hand, have decided to replace Hamilton with Kimi Antonelli, who will represent the team alongside George Russell.