F1 | Horner on Ocon: “Red Bull will not invest in a Mercedes driver”

In a Formula 1 full of paying drivers who even end up driving in the team owned by their father, there are talented drivers who seriously risk being left without a seat. There are several examples, from Stoffel Vandoorne, certainly a great driver despite the two not so great years with a far from competitive McLaren, through Pascal Wehrlein, already absent from the Circus for almost a year, ending up most likely with Esteban Ocon. Yes, because the talented French driver, 90% owned by Mercedes, will not be at the start of the next Formula 1 season, given that his place will be taken by Lance Stroll, perhaps already during the current season. There were several rumors that Ocon wanted first in Renault and then in McLaren, but the two teams have already completed their respective line-ups for 2019.

In recent days there had been thoughts about a possible arrival of Ocon in Toro Rosso together with one of Stoffel Vandoorne and Daniil Kvyat, but Christian Horner, team principal of Red Bull wanted to dispel any doubts: “We will not invest in a Mercedes driver. They certainly had the merit of having launched talented riders, but now being part of that program almost seems to be a burden contractually speaking, given the possibility for the owner team to be able to recall the rider when it sees fit. The madness is that a strong driver like Ocon risks not having a seat for next season. If he were to break free from Mercedes, he would obviously be a candidate for Toro Rosso."