Mercedes advised Ocon on how to deal with Perez

At the height of his rivalry this season with Force India team mate Sergio Perez, Esteban Ocon sought advice from Mercedes on how to deal with the tensions.

Ocon and Perez found themselves often racing each other at the outset in 2017. The duo clashed in Canada and came together in Baku, aggravating tensions between Force India's pink panthers.

It all came to a head at Spa however where the pair made contact twice, with Ocon claiming his team mate "tried to kill me", an assertion which did not go down well with the Mexican.

The rivalry and off-track tensions left Force India no other choice but to initiate team orders to keep both drivers in check.

• Ocon shrugs off Perez 'under pressure' claims

Ocon now reveals that following the contentious episode at Spa, he sought advice from Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.

"It was probably the first thing I did was to call him [Wolff] and see how they dealt with Lewis and Nico back then,” the Frenchman told Motorsport.com.

"Definitely I asked for advice and they [Mercedes] were there to help me. I had their point of view, I had Force India’s point of view.

"It’s always helpful to get different point of views, but especially from Mercedes. They are world champions so they know what they are talking about.

"I can’t go into detail but it was just a good help. You take it because it’s always good advice."

Ocon insisted that he and Perez had put the past behind and rekindled a working relationship for the sake of their team's best interests.

"It’s important we have respect for each other and it’s important for the team that there is a good atmosphere and we work together to develop the car correctly," he said.

"We are maybe not going to go on holidays together, but we get along well."

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