Ocon not looking at other series for 2019

There is still no word on Esteban Ocon’s future, with Lance Stroll’s imminent but not yet confirmed arrival at Force India looking extremely likely.

There is still a seat available at Williams, with Ocon’s Mercedes contract only allowing him to join Mercedes powered teams, but it looks more probable that the Frenchman will have to spend a year watching on from the sidelines.

Ocon is currently 11th in the drivers’ standings with 49 points, only eight behind his far more experienced team mate Sergio Perez and is tipped as one of the hottest talents on the grid at just 22 years of age.

Ocon revealed that looking elsewhere to other series such as Formula E or DTM is not an option he wants to consider.

"There has been talks that I could race in many different places and I won't go in details," he said. "But we are choosing not to do that.

"If I don't race next year I will choose to stay close to Mercedes and try to learn as much as I can from them.

"Maybe do some testing here and there if possible, and work close to them. That is the only thing I can do to stay in shape, to stay around F1.

"I don't feel like I have experience to gain if I go somewhere, which I have already done before.

"To wait for an F1 seat I did DTM for example. Back in the days I learned a lot and I don't think that is the same nowadays with the experience I have got in F1. I don't plan to race somewhere else."