Rosberg replacement to be named by end of 2016

Mercedes plan to announce Nico Rosberg’s replacement by the end of the year.

Rosberg retired from F1 last Friday, less than a week after claiming his first – and what is to be his only – world title, claiming the pressure of achieveing his childhood dream was too intense on his family.

Mercedes have been the sport’s dominant manufacturer for the last three years, with Rosberg’s team-mate Lewis Hamilton claiming the drivers’ title in 2014 and 2015.

Teenager Max Verstappen is believed to be top of Mercedes’s most-wanted list, but he is under contract with Red Bull and Mercedes would face a battle to buy him out of his current deal.

Former world champions Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) and Fernando Alonso (McLaren-Honda) are also rumoured to be contenders for the free spot in the Mercedes team.

Pascal Wehrlein (Mercedes AMG), Valtteri Bottas (Williams Martini) and Esteban Ocon (Mercedes-Benz DTM) are all reportedly being considered by Mercedes; however, the manufacturer’s non-executive director Niki Lauda has hinted that they wish to recruit a proven winner, rather than a driver for the future.

“He's a huge loss because we had the quickest driver set-up over the last three years,” said Lauda. “Nico and Lewis were pushing each other, and now we have to find a better man than Nico because we want to continue to win.

"This is a big problem now for us as a team to find the appropriate replacement. We have to think about it and contact everyone and do proper research on who we're going to put in the best car of Formula One.

"We certainly need a driver for the first test of the new car in February but I can assure you it will happen earlier because whoever it is we have to train them on the simulator, train him into the team.

"I think we should have a decision before the end of the year. We'll give an unexpected Christmas present to one of the drivers."

Photo: Getty/Clive Mason

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