Ocon relaxed about F1 future amid Renault links

Esteban Ocon remains relaxed about his Formula 1 future amid links to a Renault seat for 2019, saying he has complete faith in Mercedes' plans for his career.

Ocon, 21, has raced with Force India since the start of 2017 after graduating to F1 the previous year as part of Mercedes' young driver programme.

The Frenchman has been linked with a move to Renault for 2019 as part of Mercedes' push to build his experience and move him up the grid in order to prepare for a possible step up to its works operation in the future.

Speaking in a roundtable Q&A including Crash.net, Ocon said he was encouraged by the way people were speaking about his F1 future, but stressed his focus remained on doing the best job with Force India this season.

"If people speak about you, it’s always great. It means that they are happy with what you do on-track," Ocon said.

"We’ll see. I’m not worried about my future at the moment. I still have plenty to do here, and big work to do. We have to get into that fourth place, which is a big challenge. So we’ll see.

"When you do a good result on-track, there are always plenty of rumours and things happening, so it’s good."

Ocon confirmed that he will remain under contract with Mercedes regardless of where he races next year, and said he would continue to be "for many years", adding: "Mercedes manage my career, and that will stay for a very long time."

Ocon was passed over for a move up to Mercedes for 2019 as it opted to extend Valtteri Bottas' contract to remain alongside Lewis Hamilton, with the driver market in the top three teams looking set to remain largely unchanged.

The Frenchman stressed his faith in Mercedes' decisions, but said that it may require a young driver to step up and impress immediately with a top team for there to be a shift in perceptions.

"I think Mercedes are very talented people by choosing where to go and what to do with their drivers. They are very good at choosing that, because they are successful," Ocon said.

"But we will see. Maybe if Charles [Leclerc] goes to Ferrari and he’s doing well, maybe it will prove that younger drivers can also be at the front.

"But as long as there is not proper proof, it will stay like that."