Pascal Wehrlein says he is eager to understand why he missed out on the promotion to Force India for next season, a seat which has gone to current Manor team-mate Esteban Ocon.
Ocon joined Manor halfway through the season after he replaced Rio Haryanto and although he has impressed, he hasn't outshined Wehrlein, with the pair closely matched.
Speaking to Germany's Motorsport-Magazin, Wehrlein revealed that he only found out about the decision the day before it was announced following a phone call from Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, and said he was keen to know why he was overlooked.
"It is just what it is," he said. "I could now blame something or say bad things, but it does not help the situation, so all I can say is: Force India has decided, I wish them all the best, Esteban too.
"Toto called me and told me that Force India had decided, [not Mercedes]. Sure, I would like to learn from it, what went wrong and what was the reason for it."
He added: "This is only a small step backwards, but nothing more.
"Let's say it's not easy to deal with it, but because it's a racing weekend, I find it a bit easier. You go through different thoughts and concentrate on this job."
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