Bad news for Ocon: 'I don't see that happening at the moment'

Mercedes is still diligently searching for a teammate for George Russell for 2025. The rumour mill has been running at full speed for quite some time now, but no final decision has been made. However, Toto Wolff, Mercedes team boss, speaking to ORF, does bring bad news for Esteban Ocon.

After the Monaco Grand Prix, it was announced that Ocon will leave the Alpine team after this season. Early in his career, Ocon was a Mercedes junior and had frequent contact with Wolff, but a tenure with Mercedes is probably not in the cards. "I don't see that happening at the moment. But we want to keep the decision open as long as possible so that we remain flexible," Wolff says.

So who it does become will have to be seen in the coming months. But it will not be Carlos Sainz either, says the Austrian team boss, he does not want to keep the departing Ferrari driver waiting too long. "I didn't want to make Sainz wait too long. I think we won't be able to make a decision until November."