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Williams has confirmed that Esteban Ocon is in the frame for the second racing seat at the team. The Grove squad announced on Friday that Mercedes junior George Russell would be joining for the 2019 season following an impressive Formula 2 campaign.
However it is not clear who his teammate will be, with current driver Sergey Sirotkin and reserve driver Robert Kubica believed to be the favourites. Ocon is set to leave Force India at the end of the year as Lance Stroll is likely to join following his father's takeover.
But Williams has confirmed that the Frenchman is in the mix for a seat: "We are still doing a lot of evaluation work,” deputy team principal Claire Williams told Sky Sports.
“It’s a short short-list. We’re very happy with the drivers we are evaluating and it will not take us a long time to make that final decision. Of course Esteban is in the mix," she admitted. "We would be crazy not to be looking at him.”
Ocon was close to securing two deals with both Renault and McLaren before they opted to go with Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris respectively. Should Ocon fail to secure the seat at Williams, it is believed he would take on the role as Mercedes' test and development driver.
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Replies (5)
Login to replyRam Samartha
Posts: 1,172
Give the kid a shot. He's probably the best unclaimed driver out there at the moment. Time for Claire to go the way of Mounisha and let someone else take the reins at Williams so they can make a comeback like Sauber is doing.
Harryw
Posts: 107
Great lineup if they can secure his services.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
It'd be a real pity if he were without a seat for next year.
mcbhargav
Posts: 1,332
Its barely better than nothing for Ocon.
siggy74
Posts: 194
Be a good mix of russell ( the new kid on the block, with something to prove... but not the F1 experience).
Ocon would bring a consistant driver, with a very good chance of scoring points every race ( depending on the car...).
And if Robert can stay and have some impact into the car, he can also help russell develop. Could be a good mix. Then next year, ocon or russell to merc, and bottas comes back ;p
Cant be no worse than this season ;p