Mercedes should look at Nico Hulkenberg for 𝄹their 2025 vacancy, Guenther♚ Steiner says.

Lewis Hamilton’s move to 🎶Ferrari next year means 🦩Mercedes boss Toto Wolff must weigh up the huge decision of how to replace him.

Options range from teenage Kimi Antonelli to two-time F1🙈 champion Fernando Alonso.

B♊ut ex-Haas team principal has thrown a new name into the hat.

“If I were team boওss at Mercedes, I wouldn't say no to Nico Hu🔜lkenberg either," Steiner told .

"He was often underestimated and he was usually in th🍨e wrong place at the wro𒀰ng time.

“Maybe he'll be in the right place at 🌱the right time…”

Steiner brꦇought Hulkenberg to Haas to benefit from his experience and they worked together last season.

Hulkenberg has been on the grid uninterruptꦚed since 201🧸0 driving for Williams, Force India, Sauber, Renault, Racing Point and Aston Martin before Haas.

But he has never earned a step up to one of F1’s traditionally bigger teams, after narrowly missꦆing out on joining Ferrari in 2013.

Hulkenberg has previously described his Ferrari near-miss: “There were de🅺fi🌜nitely some talks and I think there was a realistic opportunity for quite a decent period of time but then unfortunately in the end it did fall through.”

Now aged 36, he is among F1’s older statesman.

But this season already he has dragged his ✱Haas further up the grid than many may have expected, and has reinforced his reputation as a particularly strong driver in 🌃qualifying.

“When you see what he did agai🃏n, it was very cool,” Steiner said of Hulkenberg’s 🌱P10 finish at last weekend’s F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

As a German, Hulkenberg does have an obvious li𝓀nk to Mercedes as a manufacturer.

🀅Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg are previous Germans t🔯o have driven for the Germany-based brand, while Mick Schumacher was their third driver last year.

Should Wolff opt for a stop-gap solution for the short-term before pinning his hop🌄es on a star name from 2026ꦡ onwards, then maybe Hulkenberg will come into consideration as Steiner hopes.