The Frenchman appeared resigned to a year on the sidelines in 2019 despite having impressed at Force India, but could now end up partnering fellow Mercedes protege George Russell at Williams - should the Grove-based outfit find the necessary extra funding.

Wolff stressed that whether Ocon ends up at Williams or not is "not our call", and stressed Mercedes was "prepared for plan B" with the Frenchman - which presumably entails a test and reserve role.

“You know, they say only fools are optimists, and in July I was really optimistic on having Esteban in a Renault,” said Wolff when asked by Motorsport.com.

“So I don’t know, it’s not our call. Williams needs to make up their mind who they think is the best driver for their team, and it’s not only Esteban, there’s Robert [Kubica] in the

See Full Page