Esteban Ocon showed why he will be a future star in Formula 1 with his performance at the Canadian Grand Prix, according to Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff.
The 20-year-old, who is still part of the young driver program with the German manufacturer, has been one of the underrated success stories this season, scoring in all-but-one of the seven races so far since joining Force India from the now defunct Manor team for 2017.
In Montreal, the Frenchman had the pace to score his first podium finish until he became stuck behind team-mate Sergio Perez, with the Mexican unwilling to play the team game and allowing the faster Ocon by.
“Force India could have done many more points,” Wolff commented after the race, as a charging Sebastian Vettel passed both pink VJM10’s in the closing laps.
“He (Ocon) did a great race. Really fantastic for his first season. He’s developing just in the right way, he’s going to be a superstar of the future.”
The decision to promote Ocon to Force India ahead of Pascal Wehrlein, now at Sauber, for this season surprised many after the German’s strong performances.
However, COO for the Silverstone-based team, Otmar Szafnaeur, never doubted the abilities of the former European F3 champion.
“It’s one of the reasons we chose him,” he said, referring to Esteban’s performance in Canada. “It’s hard to predict the future but we’re happy he’s done what we thought he could do.
“We’ve got two drivers that can work together and now they’re close together which means they’ll be pushing each other.
“We had that with Nico [Hulkenberg] and Sergio and we were a little unsure with Esteban, we thought, but he’s quickly gotten up to speed now and that will just push both of them forward.”
Certainly, with the trials and tribulations of Wehrlen this year, after his back injury earlier in the year, Ocon is putting a strong case forward to be the first young driver in line for a seat at Mercedes when one should become available.