Nico Rosberg retired, so who will take his spot at Mercedes?

With the shocking surprise retirement of Mercedes driver and defending Formula One world champion Nico Rosberg on Friday, one massive question has risen: who will take his seat next season?

Most spots on teams throughout the Formula One have already been settled for next season. Some drivers are switching teams, others are staying put, and both Jenson Button of McLaren and Felipe Massa of Williams are calling it a career, just like Rosberg.

Well, not just like Rosberg. Everyone knew Button and Massa, longtime veterans of the sport, were retiring at the end of the year. Rosberg’s surprise retirement just days after being crowned the Drivers Champion following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix should send shockwaves throughout the grid.

Mercedes has the most powerful engine. Red Bull and Ferrari made some gains this past season with their respective cars, but Lewis Hamilton and Rosberg were the only two in the title discussion due to the superiority of their cars.

Therefore a seat alongside Hamilton to replace Rosberg should be very, very coveted.

The sport’s three active world champions — Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso — are all under contract next season. The former two race for Ferrari and the third for McLaren. Throughout the grid, the big names are all locked up for next season.

Esteban Gutierrez, who raced for Haas F1 this year, and Felipe Nasr, who raced for Sauber, are both still without a seat going into next season. But Mercedes boss Toto Wolff likely will want someone with a bit more prestige to their name.

Pascal Wehrlein doesn’t have that prestige, but the Mercedes junior driver, who raced for Manor this season, could fit the bill of a stopgap solution. It’s unlikely Wehrlein would get a long-term deal with Mercedes, but if the constructor thinks there aren’t any better options and that their car is superior enough, Wehrlein could get the nod. He is still unsure what is happening with Manor this coming season.

It will be interesting to see what happens here. While the top guys like Vettel and Alonso are under contract, who knows what can happen when a team like Mercedes has a vacant seat? They’re likely going to be dominant again next season, and whoever grabs that seat alongside Hamilton will have a big chance of winning the title.

Even Valtteri Bottas of Williams seems like he could be an option. He’s still a young driver, and Wolff manages him. That may technically be a conflict of interest, but the option is there.

Mercedes, for their part, are having a ton of fun with the search for a replacement on Twitter, making jokes with multiple existing drivers, including young Max Verstappen of Red Bull.

If Mercedes goes after a driver currently under contract from another team, they’ll likely have to buy out the deal. Ferrari and McLaren wouldn’t want to sit idly by while losing someone like Vettel or Alonso. It’s going to be a crazy time while we await the news of who will be dueling Hamilton every race weekend for the top spot next season.