If Charles Leclerc replaces Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, Lando Norris will go to Ferrari, says ex-Scuderia boss

168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Lewis Hamilton, now 38, is 💞expected to sign a new Mercedes contract taking him up until the end of 2025 but eventually the huge🌱 decision will be made to replace him.
Leclerc, now with Ferrari, is a leading candidate and an ex-team manager for the iconic Italian F1 team thinks they could then target McLaren’𒉰s Norris.
“I would imagine ♛[Toto Wolff] is going to try and go for Leclerc,” Peter Windsor said.
“It would be a mess, probably, putting Leclerc with 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:George Russell. But if he’s prepared to put Russell with Hamilton, he’s obviously going to be prepared to put hi🙈m 💜with Leclerc.
“Le🐠t’s assume Leclerc went from Ferrari to Mercedes to replace Lewis, which is not a completely stupid assumption, what then would ✅Ferrari do? I think they would go massively all out to get Lando.
“And I think Lando, 𒀰at that point, would find it quite hard to say no, putting 🐈aside all the contractual stuff - because I do think that at that level, they can afford to [solve contractual problems].
“I think Lando has got half a chance at Ferrari, if Leclerc goes somewhere to 🌜replace Lewis – which would be good, wouldn’t it?
“Lando will be thinking about what’s going to happen next. And the heads up that Lando needs i🧸s from Lewis, isn’t ✤it?
“He needs Lewis to say: ‘This is the date [I wi♛ll ಌretire] and then Lando can get to work on what he’s going to do.”

The 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:F1 2023 driver line-up sees Norris paired with 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Oscar Piastri, a rookie replacing the veteran driver 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Daniel Ricciardo who underperformed last season.
Windsor questioned: “Would [McLaren CEO Zak Brown] stand in [Norris’] way? Lando would proba𝓀bly say to Zak: ‘Everything has been great, 💯we had Daniel, everything was fine, and then you put Piastri in the car and it’s a mess now. I didn’t want it, you’ve done it, I’m out of here!’
“That’s probably what he would say.”
A potential opportunity to partner Max Verstappen at Red Bull may also open up in the future, if 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Sergio Perez’s career ends.
“From Lando’s point ofಞ view, it’s getting to be quite a difficult situation because if there is a Ferrari drive there, that Ferrari drive will be a lot more attractive, for example, than running alongside Max at Red Bull if🔯 Perez retired,” Windsor said.
“If you are Lando, if 𓆏you are going anywher🧜e you go to either Ferrari or Mercedes.
“You wou🌸ldn’t go alongside Max, even though he might get an offer to do that. So Ferrari for Lando would be mega, wouldn’t it?
“I imagine 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Pierre Gasly is also thinking that way. He’s thinking: ‘There could be a chance at Ferrari and ꧟I want to be in that position to get that.’
“Those are the two, I think.”

James was a sports jౠournalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to 🌜football, to F1.