Lewis Hamilton and Esteban Ocon during a race weekend (Getty)
It was far from a great time for Esteban Ocon last year but at least he remained in the F1 paddock.
The 23-year-old Frenchman lost his seat at Racing Point, which was taken over by Lance Stroll, and there was a real chance he would be out of F1 too.
However, the Frenchman became the reserve driver for Mercedes last season and was rumoured to be in the running to replace Valtteri Bottas.
Mercedes decided to stick with the Finn and Lewis Hamilton while Ocon joined French outfit Renault.
The 23-year-old replaced the outgoing Nico Hulkenberg and signed a two-year deal, but Ocon could have driven for Mercedes.
The Frenchman was speaking to ESPN and claimed that Toto Wolff, the Mercedes head, was the reason why he wasn’t alongside Hamilton at the Silver Arrows.
Mercedes have won the last six constructor titles, but Wolff suggested that Ocon is still young for the seat (h/t Express):
“I don’t think I am going to go into details. Maybe if you ask Toto [Wolff]. I think it was only him taking the decision, but I think he can explain it better. He explained it to me also, but his main reason is that of course I am still young and I have time.”
Ocon also claimed that there were discussions till the last moment, but it couldn’t get over the line:
“[I was] very close [to joining Mercedes], and until the last moment there were discussions. But that’s done now and I have to look ahead and what I have in front of me.”
The former Racing Point star was a decent partner for Sergio Perez and it was partly a financial decision to allow Stroll to take up the seat.
Racing Point struggled with finances for a few years and recently, a new deal was announced. The team would be named as Aston Martin for the 2021 season and it will be interesting to see how things go with them.
Ocon, for his part, will partner Daniel Ricciardo at Renault. The French giants had a mixed season last year with some good performances but not the points to show for them.
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Ocon is still one of the best young drivers in the paddock, and he has to take this chance with both hands.
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