Mercedes chief Toto Wolff says the team “wouldn’t stand in the way” if a rival manufacturer was seeking to acquire the services of Esteban Ocon.
Ocon has been backed by Mercedes since his title-winning GP3 campaign in 2015 and made his F1 debut mid-2016 for the Mercedes-powered Manor squad, before joining Force India.
Ocon has been linked with a move on loan to Renault, with whom he previously carried out FP1 runs for the team in 2014 and 2016, and was affiliated with during his time as a Gravity Sports driver.
Renault and Mercedes are also linked through the strategic partnership between the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler, with the respective companies owning a stake in each other.
Mercedes will have no room in its driver line-up until at least 2020, owing to the new contracts recently signed by Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, while Ocon has impressed during his two-year spell in Formula 1.
Wolff is wary that Mercedes may have to allow Ocon to join a rival operation, ostensibly Renault, should the opportunity arise.
“We have picked Esteban up when Gravity fell apart and the first team that he was actually associated with was Renault,” explained Wolff.
“We at the time had just started our junior programme and it just felt right with Pascal [Wehrlein] and Esteban to give them a go.
“To date we are trying to set them a path that eventually will make them very successful long term; put then a position to be World Champions maybe one day.
“But with Valtteri and Lewis we have a line-up that is stable, that works for us.
“And at that stage there is no opportunity within Mercedes and if he has an opportunity somewhere else to be successful as a racing driver and another team or constructor to be successful with Esteban, we wouldn’t want to stand in the way.”
Ocon is understood to hold a multi-year Force India contract and when asked about the Frenchman’s services, Chief Operating Officer Otmar Szafnauer said:
Force India’s Otmar Szafnauer added: “It’s fine for him to go, but we have to agree to that. I’m sure Toto has persuasive tools, if that’s what we all want to do. We work well together.
“We had great discussions about Esteban when he came in and if it’s mutually beneficial then of course that’s what we are going to do. We won’t stand in his way.
“But first and foremost my job is to look after Force India, so I will be pushing to do what’s best for us.”
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