Esteban Ocon has received the backing of Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, who have called on Formula 1 to ensure he remains on the grid after his anticipated Force India exit.

The young Frenchman, who made his debut at this race with Manor two years ago, scored his best result on a Saturday at Spa-Francorchamps as he mastered the wet conditions in Q3 to claim third for the Silverstone-based team.

However, after this weekend, his future is uncertain with speculation new Force India owner Lawrence Stroll will be moving his son from Williams for the Italian Grand Prix in a week's time.

While that has yet to be confirmed, what is now certain is Ocon will not be racing there in 2019 after microphones picked up a conversation between the 21-year-old and Vettel after qualifying.

"Next year, where are you going? You are staying here?," the Ferrari driver asked in a transcript published Motorsport.com.

"No, it [the seat] is taken," Ocon replied.

When Sebastian then asked "by who?", he added: "Have a guess! The one who bought it!"

Ocon is helped by being part of the Mercedes young driver program and such is the impression he has made in F1, he is considered the eventual replacement for Hamilton at the German manufacturer.

Speaking in the press conference after claiming pole, the reigning world champion bemoaned the current situation which is putting his future at risk.

"Unfortunately we're in a weird place in F1 where some teams, rather than take the up-and-coming kid, they take the money," he noted.

"It means the structure of the sport is probably wrong, in terms of how the funds are distributed.

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"I've not read who has signed where and what seats are available but he needs to be in a top car as he is one of the top drivers here," Lewis added

"You can't let someone who has more money leap in front of a better driver. It shouldn't happen. The governing body definitely has to [address it] somehow."

Vettel agreed, pointing to his ability to perform in difficult situations such as that seen in Q3.

"From the outside, it's difficult to judge but I think he's doing everything right," he said.

"It's very good to get this qualifying session under the belt, get the car in P3 where it doesn't belong, I think that shows enough in a session like that that can be quite chaotic and you can easily do a mistake.

"To hold it together is crucial and that's what he did."