OFFICIAL: Ocon joins Force India on multi-year deal

Force India has announced that it has signed Esteban Ocon to a multi-year contract from the 2017 Formula One season.

A former GP3 Series champion and Mercedes junior, the Frenchman made his debut with Manor after this year’s summer break in replacement of Rio Haryanto.

Ocon was initially tipped for a full-time role at Renault since he was also serving as the French constructor’s third and reserve driver.

The 20-year-old, who will partner Sergio Perez next year, is familiar with the Force India, having tested several times with the Silverstone-based outfit in 2015.

“I’m very excited to join Force India,” said Ocon upon the announcement. “I know the team quite well already because I was a test driver last year and I’m really looking forward to working with everybody at Silverstone once again.

“I’m still relatively new to Formula One, but spending half a season at Manor Racing has given me some valuable experience and I feel ready for this new opportunity with Force India.”

“The next few months will be very busy as I do all I can to prepare for the challenge ahead of me. It means lots of days at the factory, working on the simulator and building relationships with the engineers and everybody in the team. It’s something I’ve been working towards my whole life and I intend to grab this opportunity with both hands so that I can deliver the results the team expects from me.

“I want to say ‘thank you’ to everybody at Manor and especially to Mercedes-Benz for their support and belief in me. I can’t wait for 2017 and my first full season racing in Formula One.”

Ocon’s Force India deal means only the Manor and Sauber seats remain up for grabs, though Pascal Wehrlein is expected to stay put at the Branbury-based team, while Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson have been tipped to keep their seats with the Swiss outfit.

Romain Grosjean column: Time for Haas to raise its game

Chris Medland's 2016 Brazilian Grand Prix

FEATURE: What Rosberg need to do to win the title in Brazil

INTERVIEW: Fernando Alonso: Why F1 is no longer just for heroes

TECHNICAL: Under the skin of the Ferrari SF16-H

F1i Classic: Brazil 1991 - Senna's pain and glory

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter