Esteban Ocon wants Mercedes seat but waiting on standby

Esteban Ocon is still on standby for a future at the Mercedes works team. Currently, the talented Frenchman is at Mercedes-powered customer Force India, but on standby should Mercedes call him out of its driver development programme for the top F1 seat. At present, neither Lewis Hamilton nor Valtteri Bottas are under contract for 2019.

"I don't think too much about my future," Ocon told Marca newspaper. "I think it's more important to be focused on what you're doing right now. Mercedes will decide when and if they want me. The only thing I can do is a good job here, so that's what I'm focused on. We'll see what they want to do," the 21-year-old added.

Ocon says he is happy at Force India for now, particularly after his teammate Sergio Perez scored a podium in Baku. "It was impressive," said Ocon. "We have a competitive car even though our budget is lower than many others. What we are doing is impressive, the relationship with Checo is fine, there are no big problems," he insisted.