Mercedes will "not announce Nico Rosberg's replacement until January at the earliest," according to James Galloway of SKY SPORTS. F1 has "been on tenterhooks" to learn who will succeed Rosberg in the seat alongside Lewis Hamilton since the German "stunned" the sport by retiring three weeks ago. However, a Mercedes spokesperson confirmed that "the wait will continue for at least a few weeks longer" with no announcement before Jan. 3, the date when the Brackley team returns to work after the Christmas break. Williams' Valtteri Bottas "remains the front-runner for the seat" but "the Grove team rejected the world champions' initial approach" (SKY SPORTS, 12/15). REUTERS' Alan Baldwin reported the sport's "dominant" team, which has won both titles for the past three years in a row, has "the most desirable seat on the grid up for grabs but a shortage of experienced contenders who are also available." The likes of double world champion Fernando Alonso at McLaren and Ferrari's four time title-holder Sebastian Vettel have "ruled themselves out." Alonso's manager Flavio Briatore said, "We have an agreement with McLaren and we are going to respect that." Mercedes has German reserve driver Pascal Wehrlein, who raced for Manor this year, "under contract and immediately available" (REUTERS, 12/15). BBC's Andrew Benson reported Mercedes F1 Exec Dir Toto Wolff offered Williams a €10M ($10.4M) reduction in its engine bill in return for releasing Bottas from his '17 contract with Williams. The team was also given the option of running Mercedes reserve driver Pascal Wehrlein, although "this was not a requirement of the deal." Williams has rejected the first offer but "negotiations are continuing and Wolff is expected to make an improved offer" (BBC, 12/15).
