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As Sergio Perez signed his new deal with Red Bull till 2024, Mercedes could show an interest in signing Pierre Gasly as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement, claimed F1 journalist Daniel Moxon of the Mirror. The French driver has been one of the promising most drivers on the grid. Gasly resurrected his Formula One career with Alphatauri after a failed streak at Red Bull.
According to reports, the German manufacturer could look to get the Rouen-born racer as a replacement for their seven-time champion, who has been struggling in the 2022 season. Hamilton is aged 36 and is placed sixth in driver’s standing with 50 points, which is sub-par according to his standards. Hence the 2021 Constructors’ champions could possibly sign Pierre Gasly and create a young duo with George Russell.
But amidst these struggles, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has defended his driver in the recent race at Monaco. Wolff talked about how he had a lot of bad luck throughout the weekend. He said, "He could have been right there and could have closed Lando [Norris, sixth] or even fight with George [fifth] and Lando at the front because that was his pace.”
When you look at the bad spells Lewis had, stuck behind Fernando today, the contact with Esteban, the red flag in qualifying yesterday," added Wolff. "I think the pendulum will swing and this unlucky situation will stop with Lewis as they are very much on the same pace."
Wolff then criticised Alpine driver Fernando Alonso who drove a slower pace during the race, creating a massive gap in the midfield. He said, "I think what we need to look at is Monaco. If a car can slow down by almost five seconds and hold everybody up it is just a shame for the racing here so maybe we can look at the track layout and the things we can do so we are not having a procession or having a strategy game or qualifying race.”
"You can see there is another lesson that track position is everything in Monaco, I mean five seconds is like a Formula 2 car. It is such a spectacle here, it is such a fantastic venue and it is always amazing to be here but I think we need to look in a way at the layout where we can basically close the loop for five seconds slower and you still can't do it," he continued.