Alpine's Esteban Ocon has added fuel to the F1 driver market fire, acknowledging his "strong links" to Mercedes amidst swirling speculation about replacing Lewis Hamilton in 2025.
With his Alpine contract expiring this season, the French driver's future remains a hot topic, especially considering his past association with the Silver Arrows outfit.
Ocon, once a shining star in the Mercedes junior program, captured the 2015 GP3 Series title under the German manufacturer’s tutelage, and his career is still managed by Toto Wolff despite his current contract with Alpine in F1 that extends until the end of 2024.
Pundits have therefore predictably shortlisted the talented 27-year-old as a potential candidate for Hamilton’s future vacant seat at Mercedes.
During Wednesday’s launch at Enstone of Alpine’s A524, Ocon carefully navigated the media spotlight. He acknowledged his existing relation with Mercedes but made clear that his focus and allegiance is with his current employer.
“I've always had strong links with Mercedes. I'm still a Merc junior driver,” he said. “This has always been, even if I'm not that junior anymore. I'm still contracted with them at some stage.
“So, it is how it is. We will see. At the moment, I'm totally dedicated to Alpine. That's my focus.
“I need to do a good job on track as always. Every year is a crucial year in F1 because it doesn't matter if you have a contract or not. If you don't perform, you can be out. That's how it is.
“If you do a strong job there will be always talks, rumours and good things for you. As long as we talk about you, it means that what you do on track is good.”
After last year’s troubled campaign, marked by a mid-summer turmoil and management shake-up, Alpine appears to be resting once again in calm waters.
Ocon hopes that his team’s newfound stability will translate into positive results.
"It's very good to have continuity," he added. "You keep the work going, keep the little details going through. And ultimately, that's very important because you have everything to learn if you work with a new team, with new people.
"If there is some fuss at the other [teams], we will take it, but we don't want to focus on the other side. We need to be perfect on our side and then things will come."
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