Ocon explains 'busy' role for Mercedes in 2019

Esteban Ocon has expanded on what his role will entail for Mercedes this year. The Frenchman will act as its reserve driver, having lost his F1 seat following the 2018 season.

Ocon's future at Racing Point (then called Force India) looked in doubt when a consortium of investors led by Lawrence Stroll took over the team. As expected, the team signed Lance Stroll, Lawrence's son, to the outfit alongside Sergio Perez.

Ocon was snubbed by a number of other F1 teams for 2019 due to his management links with Mercedes. Despite not racing this year, Ocon explained that he will be extremely busy as he splits his time between track and simulator running.

"This year for me is going to be very very busy," Ocon told Sky Sports News. "I will be of course at every race, following the work from Valtteri and Lewis, and trying to learn as much from them as well.

"But in the European races, I will also be doing all the setup work for the team from the simulator, from Brackley, and then flying on Friday night to be at the track on Saturday."

Ocon will hold his duties alongside former McLaren driver Stoffel Vandoorne, who is currently racing in the Formula E championship with HWA, whose parent company is Mercedes.