Finding a replacement for the outgoing Nico Rosberg may have been Mercedes main concern so far this winter break, but there’s an overlooked vacancy that the champions will need to fill soon.
Mercedes showed quality at both ends of the field in 2016. Whilst their drivers were battling for the title, two of their junior drivers were battling at the back of the field. Both Pascal Wehrlein and Esteban Ocon both made strong impressions in their debut seasons in Formula One, enough to earn themselves race seats for the 2017 season.
But that leaves Mercedes with a dilemma.
Testing regulations state that two days of in-season testing must be allocated to training the stars of the future. Those young drivers can only have competed in a maximum of two races to qualify, this means their usual test drivers, Wehrlein and Ocon, are both ruled out.
Mercedes are yet to announce who they’ll take on to full that young driver role, but we’ve drawn up a list of rising stars they may be considering for the job.
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