F1 News
Esteban Ocon ‘deserves to be in Formula 1’
Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff believes Esteban Ocon ‘deserves to be in Formula 1’ after not being on the grid this season.
Ocon was dropped by SportPesa Racing Point at the end of last season, with Lance Stroll taking his place at the team.
But Mercedes kept the Frenchman under their wing, making him the teams reserve driver for this year and has now been strongly linked with a return to the grid in 2020.
It has been rumoured that several teams, such as Renault, Haas and SportPesa Racing Point, are interested.
Wolff said (quoted by Autoweek): "He deserves to be in F1, that's clear.
"He does a great job for us in the simulator and then at Force India in the last years. He deserves to be in Formula 1."
At the German Grand Prix Ocon nearly made an appearance in Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes after the Brit announced that he was ill and considered not taking part.
But Hamilton drove and qualified on pole but could not translate that into the race as he finished ninth, while teammate Valtteri Bottas, who Ocon could potentially replace next year, crashed out.
Wolff is unsure yet as to whether he will choose Bottas or Ocon but will not block the Frenchman from a seat in F1 should another opportunity come about.
"We will take our decision in August," Wolff added.
"If we do not have room for him, we'll have to let him go.
“We cannot block a young driver if we cannot offer him a cockpit."
