Esteban Ocon's hopes of staying in Formula 1 next season look to be all but dead, according to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.
“I think the chances for next year are pretty grim,” Wolff told Sky Sports F1 on Friday in Mexico. “That hasn’t changed really for the last two months."
There had been hopes that Ocon was still in the running for the remaining vacant seat at Williams. Deputy team principal Claire Williams said they would be 'crazy' not to look at signing him, and reports said they were trying to secure the necessary funding to do the deal.
That would put him alongside another rising Mercedes protégé George Russell, a direct comparison that perhaps wouldn't be idea for either driver.
“George’s plan is to very much stay long term with Williams and help the team come back," he explained. “He is on a multi-year contract and knows that very well.
"For Esteban, it is a completely different ball game," Wolff said. "It is probably better for him to sit one year out and come back in a strong car."
His comments certainly seem to suggest that even this possibility to keep Ocon on the grid next season is fast dwindling.
Sergey Sirotkin is the current incumbent at Grove, but he's under pressure from the team's test and reserve driver Robert Kubica who is seeking to return to F1 for the first time since 2010. Formula 2 driver Artem Markelov has also been rumoured as a contender for the spot.
The only other seats sill open for next season are at Toro Rosso and Force India. Formula 2 driver Alexander Albon is the favourite for the former, while Lance Stroll is a dead cert at the latter - all of which leaves Ocon out in the cold for next season.
But Wolff has pledged to support the young Frenchman and says he "can guarantee" the 22-year-old will get a good seat the following year.
"We are already thinking about 2020," Wolff confirmed. “He is going to be involved in all our development in the Mercedes car, and then we will see where he ends up.
“We need to balance it," he continued. "On the one side you want him to stay sharp and race, and maybe help a car that is not performing so well.
“But on the other side he can do a really good support job on the Mercedes also."
Ocon has previously said that he absolutely trusts Wolff to do what's best for his future in F1.
"I trust Toto," Ocon told Sky Sports F1 last week. "He has always found solutions for me.
"Even if I don't have a seat next year, we see great opportunities for 2020," he insisted. "I hope the future will be bright.
"I had a fantastic choice of going into McLaren and going to Renault, but nothing went as planned and now I'm here in this situation."
Ocon certainly hadn't given up on the chance of joining Williams. "There is still a second seat available and hopefully I will join that team.
"People see it in a way that George steals my seat, but that's not the way at all," he added after the announcement that Williams had signed Russell. "I'm very happy for George."
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