Mercedes once held discussions with Sebastian Vettel over a deal to make him Lewis Hamilton's team-mate, the German racer has revealed.
Already a four-time world champion by that point, Vettel was racing for Ferrari at the time. He had just completed his second season with the Italian team when, in 2016, Nico Rosberg announced his retirement after beating Hamilton to the title.
The Silver Arrows were forced to find a replacement at short notice to partner Hamilton going forward. And who better to field alongside a triple champion, as the Brit was at the time, than someone who had enjoyed so much of his own title success as Vettel?
