Official: Esteban Ocon in Force India in 2017

After many rumors, confirmation has finally arrived: Esteban Ocon is the new Force India driver for the 2017 Formula 1 season. The official announcement came directly from the Indian club, which decided to focus on a young driver like the Frenchman to replace Nico Hulkenberg, who was leaving for Renault.

Ocon, having made his top-flight debut this season with Manor, was in contention for a place among Force India and Renault: the Indian team came out on top, also thanks to the French company's choice to keep Jolyon Palmer as second driver.

"I am very happy to become a Force India driver. I already tested with the team last season and I can't wait to get back to working with the guys. I still have relatively limited experience in F.1, given the half-season I did together with Manor, but that has given me a good dose of experience and I feel ready to face this new opportunity in the best possible way” – said Ocon -. “The next few months will be dedicated to preparing for this new challenge to try to bring the team the results they expect from me. I want to thank everyone at Manor, but also Mercedes for supporting me and believing in me. I can't wait for next year to tackle my first full season in F.1."

The boss of Force India is also very satisfied, Vijay Mallya: “It is a pleasure to welcome Esteban Oncon, he is our new driver for 2017. Esteban is an exceptional talent and has proven this over the years. We have followed his growth and career year after year and we have no doubt that he will be able to do very well in our team. During the past season, Esteban carried out some tests and his performances convinced us".

Gianluca D'Alessandro