Force India driver Esteban Ocon is resigned to the fact that his Formula 1 career has stalled, but laments the fact that not long ago he had offers on the table from big teams but in the blink of an eyelid, his future suddenly became very uncertain and all through no fault of his own.
In an interview with AutoMoto on TF1, the highly rated young Frenchman admitted, "It is not an easy situation that I am living through, but there are worse things in life."
"It is crazy to still be in this situation because it was great a few months ago, we were in a great situation with two possible choices, with two big teams [Renault and McLaren] an ideal situation for a driver to be in."
But things changed when McLaren signed on Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz, while Renault opted for Daniel Ricciardo, a move that caught everyone by surprise.
Including Ocon, "Yes, it was a big surprise, we did not expect it at all after the discussions we had and we thought we had the green light."
Renault F1 chief Cyril Abiteboul reasoned that Ocon's affiliation to Mercedes was the deal-breaker, but the 23-year-old disagreed, "Obviously I don't agree with Cyril on that one point. Sure, I'm a Mercedes driver, but that would not matter if I drove for Renault."
"I would do my best in the car and I would have liked to have raced for them. Well, now that will not be the case, so we will see in the future where I will end up."
With the Racing Point owned Force India's drivers apparently sorted for next year, with Lance Stroll a sure choice for one of the seats while Sergio Perez seems to think he has a deal stitched up with the team now owned by a consortium of billionaire pals headed by Lawrence Stroll.
Hence Ocon is looking for work and Williams might be his last chance of securing a seat on the 2019 F1 grid, "I do not know yet if I will go to Williams or not, but sure there are discussions."
As for a gap year in 2019, Ocon conceded, "It would not be a disaster but you never know what can happen in F1. During 2019, I can assure you I will do everything to secure a drive for 2020."
"We will find a solution, even if I'm not on the grid next year, I'll be back in Formula 1, that's for sure," insisted Ocon who received a boost when Mercedes F1 team chief Toto Wolff insisted that he would win races, even titles, with the Silver Arrows at some point in the future.
https://www.grandprix247.com/2018/09/14/wolff-one-day-ocon-will-win-championships-in-a-mercedes/
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