Mercedes won't release Ocon

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff insists that Esteban Ocon won't be released from their junior programme and he is adamant Ocon will prove other teams wrong for not signing him.

With silly season almost over now, Ocon looks the biggest loser of the season with the Frenchman still not having a seat in F1 next season, despite impressing for Force India this season.

Ocon looked nailed on to join Renault, but when Daniel Ricciardo became available - the French side snapped the Aussie up and the offer to Ocon was therefore rescinded.

His Force India seat looks almost definitely gone with Lance Stroll the likely candidate following his father's takeover of the team.

However, the Mercedes boss still has confidence that Ocon's future is in F1 despite all the uncertainty and completely ruled out releasing Ocon from Mercedes' books.

"Not in a million years (will Ocon be released from Mercedes)," Wolff explained to Crash.net. "Because one day he is going to be in a Mercedes and win races and championships, and show all the others out there that they had a mistake.