Wolff: Mercedes not considering rival drivers

Mercedes' boss Toto Wolff says that Mercedes is not considering rival drivers for the 2019 season. Both Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas are out of contract at the end of the year, however it is believed that Hamilton is close to extending his stay at the Silver Arrows.

Question marks linger over the future of Bottas, who joined the team in 2017. The Finn has put in an impressive display over the course of the first four races of the current season, despite being hit with some poor luck.

Mercedes currently has three drivers signed up to its young driver programme. Esteban Ocon, Pascal Wehrlein and George Russell are all a part of Mercedes' F1 junior crew, with Ocon being the only driver currently racing in F1.

And Wolff says that when it comes to its line-up in the future, it will most likely be looking to recruit from within the team, rather than sign drivers from rival teams Ferrari and Red Bull.

"We are not looking at drivers outside of Mercedes at the moment because, first of all, we need to give our support to our two guys, that's the priority," Wolff said. "It's like if you're happy with your wife, you don't look elsewhere! We are with our two wives - or three [including Ocon] - and we are not looking at that.

Wolff says that time will provide a clearer picture of who is best suited for a seat with the reigning champions next year: "Give us a few more races, [let us] start the European season properly, go to Canada, and then the intense July, and I will have a better view."

Wolff expressed his relaxation over the future of the team's line-up saying that with its current racers and junior members, it has nothing to worry about:  "It's a good problem to have," Wolff said about struggling to find the pick of the bunch.

"We are very satisfied with how Valtteri has been going these days and Lewis we don't need to talk about -- he's the best of the current drivers in my opinion and then you have these kids growing up like Ocon and George. I am optimistic about the future Mercedes line-up."

And as for Hamilton's contract, Wolff said: "We haven't talked now for a few days or few weeks because it was so intense in getting our act together with the team and all our priority has been concentrated on that, and this is what we do. We are very well aligned in what we expect from each other in the future and it's just finding the time to sit down."

Fergal Walsh