Esteban Ocon accepts he would be depending on teams remembering his performances with Force India should Mercedes not give him a seat in 2020.
The Frenchman is spending a year as reserve driver at the Brackley-based team after being dropped by the re-named Racing Point outfit to accommodate Lance Stroll for the upcoming season.
His former teammate Sergio Perez recently claimed it is a risk for Ocon to step out the Formula 1 spotlight and sit on the sidelines for a full year and the 22-year-old himself appeared to agree.
“I don’t know about that, when you’re not racing you don’t earn anything,” he told Autosport when asked if he could continue to build his reputation.
“I hope that those two years were enough to prove I deserve a seat for 2020. The only thing I can do is to do the talking on track.
“I believe everyone is happy with the work I’ve done so that’s the only thing I can do. The other things are not in my hands.”
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On the contrary to the worries Ocon may never return to F1, his trust in Mercedes, where he is a junior driver, could be repaid with a seat at the German manufacturer in 2020 replacing Valtteri Bottas.
And in terms of putting his case forward for that position, Esteban remains upbeat.
“I’m lucky, that’s a positive to have the massive support from Mercedes,” he claimed. “Even in difficult times, they remember my potential and what I’ve done.
“That’s different to other junior programmes in F1. Mercedes don’t leave you alone, they keep supporting you and believe in your potential.
“When they take you it’s for a long time. That’s the positive I see at the moment.”
