While Sir Lewis Hamilton’s Formula 1 future remains uncertain, Mercedes is working on a hypothetical ‘plan B’ to replace the seven-time F1 World Champion – TJ13 can reveal that it is two Frenchmen would be ideally placed.
Lewis Hamilton, who is still clearly affected by the end of the season and the loss of the World Championship title to Max Verstappen on the last lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, is reportedly questioning his future in Formula 1.
We all fluctuate in our emotions and especially Lewis is a driver prone to this. He had won the world championship until the last lap, then it was all taken away from him in the last second in a similar manner to how Lewis took the title away from Ferrari’s Felipe Massa in 2008.
“Of course, you lose faith because you can’t understand what has just happened,” said Toto Wolff recently, leaving the future of the seven-time world champion in doubt.
For his part, Alain Prost did not hide his concern on this subject in the columns of the JDD, reported on by this website earlier in the week.
“He surely has as many reasons to stop as to continue. He has taken a big blow to the head mentally, but it would be really sad if he wasn’t here this season,” explained the four-time French world champion.
According to the latest rumours in the press, Gasly the priority. For TJ13, it is actually Esteban Ocon in the hot seat.
A situation that is pushing Mercedes to work on a plan B. Indeed, the German team could well start the season with a brand new pair of drivers, as George Russell has already replaced Valtteri Bottas, and Lewis Hamilton could therefore free up the most coveted seat in F1.
According to The Express, Toto Wolff’s priority is to attract Pierre Gasly. The Frenchman is coming off a magnificent season with AlphaTauri and has proved his speed in qualifying. His performances have made him ambitious and after a failed stint with Red Bull, he hopes to quickly get his chance with a top team. TJ13 believes this to be not a viable option.
One of many obstacles is Red Bull. Indeed, Pierre Gasly, who comes from the Red Bull driver program, is under contract with the Austrian Alpha Tauri Red Bull junior team until 2023, and it is unlikely that management gift Gasly to Mercedes. After all, by replacing Lewis Hamilton, Pierre Gasly would become Max Verstappen’s main rival in the title race.
This website understands that Mercedes is seriously considering the other French driver in the paddock: Esteban Ocon.
It must be said that the latter is still contractually linked to Mercedes and has the advantage of knowing the German team perfectly, having been its reserve driver in 2019. All the more so as with the young Oscar Piastri, Formula 2 champion, Alpine already seems to have the successor to Esteban Ocon.
The sooner Hamilton retires and starts his singing career, if you can call what he does singing, the better off F1 will be.
You wish
So much hate for a great driver and 7 time’s world champion who has been a great representative of the greatest sport in the world, Day said the same about Schumacher When he was drivingI’m a Ferrari fanPut I recogniseA great driver even if he did the massa in 2008 aggh still hurts 😢, Hamilton will come back stronger more aggressive
seriously ! what’s he done for uk other than leave it to avoid tax !!NOTHING he’s a second class driver ! that throws a hissy if he loses LITERALLY every time he’s arrogant up himself and senna would be turning in his grave ! get shot of him then f1 can go back to the way it was without a brat i’ve watched f1 all my life til l this arrogant brat started he thinks he’s better than anyone else HES NOT his attitude ruins him !
You really are one sad horrible person who also talks complete nonsense. Lewis is not arrogant Max is the arrogant one if anyone. And when does he throw a hissy? Even when he had the title stolen from him he still remained calm and even had the decency to congratulate max and his father which shows what a genuinely decent man he is. You’re just another horrible hater people like you don’t know anything else but hatred your life must be really miserable. Lewis is a million times a better person than you and how can you say he’s not even a good driver you’re just making a total fool of yourself. You don’t become the most successful driver in F1 history if you’re an average driver even if you have the fastest car. Considering you claim to have watched F1 your whole life you seem to know nothing about the sport. Senna would have a great deal of respect for Lewis he wouldn’t be turning in his grave you really are a total idiot.
Just because he is unbeatable retiring is the only other option you have and as for your comments about his singing…we he does it for fun …what skills do you have?
Ah right, that unbeatable guy, who is currently moping because he was beaten.
He was beaten indeed, beaten by an unscrupulous mafia. Nothing to do with sport, everything with money.
You Ignorant mug Lewis was so far in front of your Dutchman that it took a corrupt FIA official Michael Masi for Lewis and Mercedes to lose that race the whole world knows what happened that day
Ocon won’t be a good replacement for Lewis because he is too weak in too many areas.
Physically he is too weak as he allows the likes of max to push him around and mentally he is too weak because he let Alonso run the show at Alpine.
We have to stop trying to force Lewis to retire as it look like this is the only way to beat him and that is sad
The last race was a fix and the whole world saw that so those who benefited can enjoy the money made due to this and I am sure someone will blow the whistle at some point.
I just hope Lewis will be racing in the 2022 season.
Just after the lost chamionship race I saw him and his father congratulate both Max and Jos Verstappen with their win.
As I saw him just minutes after this for him dramatic loss, I saw the great sportmanship he has, together with his dad Lewis were behaving as real sports gentleman accepting their loss.
And this reaction of both his dad snd him, made me realise what a realy polite and great sportsman Lewis realy is.
So in case of reading this Lewis, please come back in 2022 and show us some more of your increadable racing talent and true sportmanship as you did last 12 years.
Your absolute polite and human reaction together with your dad just after your loss, made me realise your not only a great racer, but a true sportsman and one of the realy greatest I have ever seen.
So put on your helmet wear your trendy or silly clothes , I do not care, you have shown your good hart and caring soul in just thatcaction together with your dad congratulating Max.
What a moran you are. Hamilton is and probably will be the best f1 driver up there with Michael Schumacher. Sick and tired of hearing
about max verstappen he only won because it was given to him. Would,nt be surprised if latiffi had a part in this. What a coincidence that he crashes with 5 laps to go. Verstappen has a lot to prove. He is a an aggressive and thinks only of himself. If Hamilton does retire I would,nt blame him for the way he was treated. I wonder how much massi got to let overlapped cars by on the final lap. Absolute disgraceful end to a fantastic season.
with u on this 100% i hate him he’s so dam arrogant i love f1 but since this brat started i’ve refused to watch it ! n the last race where he lost n threw his toys out the pram lmao shows unless he wins he throws a strop ! i hope he quits he’s not the god loads think he is ! he don’t live in uk or pay taxes and he is a very bad loser !
Did you even watch the race? He didn’t “throw his toys out the pram” you muppet most people would have been going crazy after having the title stolen from them but Lewis showed what an exceptional man he is by keeping his cool and even congratulating max and his father. Like Jose said you nothing about nothing the only thing your comments have achieved is showing everyone how full of hatred you are and what a sad miserable person you are. Congratulations
Know nothing about nothing you are just a fool.
It seems that people are wishing Lewis will retire. You have no idea of his fighting spirit. Some silly man saying F1 will be better. Why? Get used to the fact that he will be around stronger than ever.
I personally would love to see lewis racing but I also would like to know what the FIA have to say about the robbery in Abu dhabi.
personaly i hope LH continues, he is one of the best drivers around. But he isn’t getting younger en the new kids on the block are here to dethrone him.
maybe thats where his hesitation comes from. Russel is a very different driver then Bottas. Has a very different possition within the team, Russel is the future for mercedes while LH is the present and the past.
In my opinion, would LH had won the championship in 2021, he would have announced his retirement.
Sorry to say this but LH has been spoilt 7 years out of the last 8 and doesn’t know how to handle defeat. He lost 2021 championship and should learn to accept this & stop sulking
Ben oh ben why do you dig your head in your own waste…you sot are your computer and write that? Listen young man you need to educate yourself about this sport and take a step back from that direction you are heading.
You obviously don’t know what you are talking about..nobody can really understand as no other driver has gone through this after winning 7 titles…
Lets make one thing clear my man:) losing is one thing and you have to be OK with it of course. But something being stolen from is something completely different. Lewis dominated the race and deserved to win until it was given to Max by the decision that completely broke the rule in the F1 book… I would have said the same thing if it was other way around or any other driver. This isn’t about Lewis or Max what was done in the last lap was not right….
He wasnt defeated!!!
Massa crossed the line in his home Grand Prix in Brazil to become 2008 World Champion. 30 seconds later the pain of seeing Lewis cross the line in 5th and claiming the title would have been heart breaking. And yet reports from that day spoke of his exceptional response to the adversity.
At least Lewis wasn’t at home, nor crossed the line first and had it taken away. Such class the fans would say..
Lol. EXCLUSIVE. Please. This is utter tripe like the rest of your continual anti Hamilton posts.
People can’t stop speculation entirely hypothetical scenarios. Lewis won’t leave for good over the last race manipulation. Thinking otherwise is a time-waster & has been this whole time.
BTW, Gasly until 2023 is about a general Red Bull contract rather than Alpha Tauri specifically & Ocon isn’t contractually linked to Mercedes as he’s 100% Team Enstone driver & has been since he joined for 2020 rather than on loan. This got made clear pre-2019 Belgian GP.
Completely different to 2008.
2008 was a result of Hamilton overtaking a failing Timo Glock and was won on the race track.
2021 was a result of favourable interference from Massi putting the Verstappen in a position of near guaranteed victory.
Mercedes being upset is justifyable as they had the win literally taken from them under controversial circumstances.
I am sick and tyred of these Hamilton fans, thinking that the title was tyken away from him that is total BULL SHIT. As if the team didn’t had a change to bring him in for frech tyres, Get the fuck over your self
Lewis didn’t make F1 all thow he think so, F1 made him. There was much better Driver’s before him and there will be much beter Driver’s after him.
He benefit for year’s under the same situation, and had very dodgy Podium’s, combine that with a Superior car and team orders, many drivers will be come 7 time world chanpion.
He is contracted till 2023, if he does not Honor that, it will be typical Lewis Hamilton not respecting his team. BUT WHO THE FUCK CARES
But do what you want Lewis there is any case a NEW KID ON THE BLOK
PISS OFF
Apart from demonstrating how rubbish your English and spelling are you’ve also shown how little you know about the sport. If Mercedes had pitted Lewis he would of lost track position you complete idiot. Then all max would have needed to do is stay out rather than pitting and he would have had sizable lead and won the race. As it happened he won the race unfairly due to Massi bending the rules to help him win a race that Lewis had dominated from lap one. Take your hatred somewhere else you muppet.
With Lewis keeping a low profile don’t mean he is going to retire from the sport he lo es andbabove all very good at.
If you take the current drivers line up he will always be in the top 2 .
Say what you want about his lifestyle his driving skills are untouchable and only those who are jealous or racist will say otherwise.
You have to give credit where credit is due and Lewis is one of the best in the sport at the moment considering he is 37 and with the young blood coming through like Max Lando Charles and George f1 will be even better.
Well. All Ham prophets and disciples can rest on both ears. There seems to be a secret deal between FIA and Mercedes: Massi for Hamilton. Massi must hang so La Lewis can crawl from under his rock. Stylefull… Check the internets for Andrew Benson article.
No one knows how that race would have ended. If Hamilton was made to give the place back when Verstappen took the short cut, it all could have turned to custard for Hamilton. It’s all very well to have the fastest car and start from pole and not be challenged, but now that he has competition, he doesn’t like it
If you knew anything about F1 you would know that just about every champion has won the title while having the fastest car. The fight between Lewis and Max was a fair one, some races Max had the fastest car and some races Lewis had the fastest car. On paper Max should have had the fastest car at the start of the race in Abu Dhabi but Lewis was just to good for him. Even if Lewis had been made to give the place back he would have simply taken the place back soon after. He was on fire that day and the only thing that could stop him taking the title was the race director making up his own rules on the last lap and manipulating the result in Max’s favour which is exactly what happened. Lewis was robbed plain and simple!
Yup totally agree. I’m new to watching F1. So I hardly know the correct rules but what I saw in that race didn’t seem correct. How does one loose because of an accident on the track when before the accident he had 11 or 12 second gap. I realize that would of been boring to watch if it just ended under the safety car. But why doesn’t the whole thing get paused if you will, and resume with 5 laps left. And all drivers maintain the same distance apart. Technology has to be good enough these days to make that happen. Literally my first race I watch and that happened. Hamilton was robbed and won in my eyes. Masi should be let go for manipulating the race like that. But what do I know. Congrats to Max but I’m sure it’s in the back of his head too that he shouldn’t have won.
The person who wrote this article is an idiot! Suggesting that Lewis lost the championship to Max in a similar manner to how Lewis took the title away from Ferrari’s Felipe Massa in 2008 is ridiculous. Yes Felipe was winning the championship until the last lap but that is where any similarities end. No one can deny that Lewis got lucky on the last lap but ultimately he won the title fair and square, he didn’t have it handed to him by a race director manipulating the result by making up his own rules on the last lap. Felipe unfortunately lost the title due to luck not going his way whereas Lewis had it blatantly stolen from him! I’ve never read TJ13 before and definitely won’t be reading it again!
Lois Hamilton needs to ‘come out’ and admit that dress making is his closet activity.
Nothing but a spoilt brat.
The sooner Lois Hamilton comes out of the closet and becomes a full time dress maker the better, can’t stand any more of his entitled cry baby tactics.
You are a jealous pathetic person and the sooner you come out the closet and admit you are gay the better. He had the title stolen from him but instead of crying about it he was man enough and decent enough to shake Max and Karen’s hand. He even told Toto to drop the appeal because he didn’t want F1’s reputation to be damaged any more than it already had been. He came from a poor background, battled against racism and became the most successful F1 driver in history through hard work, determination and pure talent. He’s been an example to thousands of kids and inspired the next generation so how about you show some respect instead of embarrassing yourself and making yourself look like a jealous little fool.
You don’t know what your talking about. SLH wasn’t from a poor background atall and Stevenage is not a slum as he once called it. Ron Dennis picked him up from an early age and he has had a blessed life ever since.
Great driver, yes no question, but he has been in the right car at the right time.
The stewards decisions in the race were questionable, but have been sketchy all year, so viewed over the whole season the right man won.
I don’t know what I’m talking about? Lewis certainly wasn’t from a wealthy background like many F1 drivers. It was much later when mclaren eventually signed him but during his younger years his family was poor which is why he often talked about the hard work his father did to support his karting career, often working 3 different jobs at a time. It was through this early period that the hard work his father put in was critical to his future as an F1 driver. I don’t get why people like you hate on Lewis so much I guess it’s just jealousy or maybe that you’re just not very nice people. I’m sure Lewis is a better man than you’ll ever be and has been an inspiration to many young people, not just racing drivers. So go crawl back under that rock you came from and enjoy the rest of your day.
Karl, are saying that being gay is a negative? Be careful with your reply 🔨
I never said anything about it being negative so I suggest you be careful about trying to twist my words. There are many posts on here from the haters that actually are saying blatantly negative things about Lewis, have you commented or questioned their remarks?
then why did you say I need to come out of the closet?
That comment wasn’t even for you it was for the person that said Lewis should come out of the cost and admit he’s a dress maker
“In a similar way to how he took it away from massa” what a joke this writer is a muppet
Please improve your writing skills, Your attempts to entertain by printing made up fiction that even a child would not belive shows a lack of intelligence. If there is no news then don’t make it up. Goodbye forever and that you will not be missed.
It’s the same crap every year last year was contract grow up you know your not retiring you came second get over it
It was bad enough before, but since the end of the 2021 season teeing as this website has become, without question, the centre of the The Lewis Hamilton Hatred Club.
I cant for the life of me figure out what it is about him that garners such vitriol and hatred, both from posters in the comments section, and actively facilitated and encouraged by the writer….
Any idea which group of F1 “fans” sent death threats to Latifi…?
“Any idea which group of F1 “fans” sent death threats to Latifi…?”
Nope, do you? Do you have any proof that these sumbags are actually affiliated to a specific driver?
Anyone doing that are obviously not “fans” tho, are they!
They could easily have been angry “cavallinorampante” fans, angry at their guy not getting a shot at Max – equally any of the other drivers not afforded the same chance (Stroll, Ricciardo IIRC)
G, Hamilton is an exceptional talent and it is beyond doubt that he is one of the best drivers in F1 history. But I reserve the right to question his behaviour and attitude. Actually I am a big fan of Lewis.
Are you talking about the kind of attitude that see him congratulating Max and Jos’s hands moments after he had the title stolen from him? That demonstrated what a great man he is and personally I think he has an excellent attitude and his behaviour is exemplary
You could have fooled me…. and anyone else reading your rants over the past 4 weeks (several years)
If you are a fan as you say, try being supportive
Well said. I think judge is a hater he just won’t admit it
a difference of opinion is clearly being a hater 🤣
such a hater I’ve blocked and banned all the hamfosi on TJ13
Is this a joke? Ocon is nowhere near good enough to take on the Mercedes. If Hamilton quits their first call would be to Engine customer McLaren for the services of Lando Norris.
I’m not 100% sure but if I recall correctly, the win over Massa was due to weather and team decisions on boxing for tires or not. How is that even close to a decision by one questionable director. The only thing that comes to mind is when a game is decided by a questionable ref’s call. Can’t change the outcome but it doesn’t mean it’s right.
On another note, you haters, shut it. I’ve pulled for different drivers over the years but haven’t hated any of the other ones. If any win fairly, great. If you hate Lewis or any other driver for that matter, you might want to look in the mirror and try to find the true reason. Also, hating someone you don’t even know, sounds weird.