File photograph of Esteban Ocon© AFP
French Formula One driver Esteban Ocon on Thursday confirmed his “strong links” with Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team following Lewis Hamilton’s dramatic swap to Scuderia Ferrari after the top of the 2024 season. Speaking to Sky Sports, Ocon stated that there isn’t any “secret” that he’s nonetheless a Mercedes junior driver. “I obviously still have strong links with Mercedes, I’m still a Mercedes junior driver, that is no secret to anyone,” Ocon stated as quoted by Sky Sports. The Alpine F1 Team driver added that this season he’s “totally dedicated” to his present French aspect and looking out ahead to the upcoming season of Formula One. “But I’m totally dedicated to Alpine this year, I’ve got 24 races to get through and we’ll see where we end up,” he stated.
“Formula 1 is fierce, a lot of things can happen, as we can see, but I’m ready to take on the challenge,” he added.
After information of Hamilton’s departure was confirmed, many names surfaced about who may exchange the seven-time World Champion.
Earlier, the Team Principal of Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Toto Wolff confirmed that George Russell would be the subsequent “lead driver” of the workforce after the top of the 2024 season.
“With all the Lewis discussion, something that has not been talked about enough is George. George has the potential to be the next lead driver in the team. He is of the generation of Lando (Norris) and (Charles) Leclerc and some of the others,” stated Wolff, in line with Sky Sports.
Last week, Ferrari shocked the sporting world by saying that the seven-time world champion will be part of the Italian workforce for the 2025 Formula One season on a multi-year contract.
The information brings an finish to Hamilton’s what’s presently a 17-year-long relationship in F1 with Mercedes-Benz and an 11-year-long partnership with the works workforce.
Topics talked about on this article