Ocon looking out for Mercedes 'opportunities'

Esteban Ocon has revealed that he has been given performance targets by his bosses at parent team, Mercedes, for this campaign, and is looking forward to potential "opportunities" opening up with the Silver Arrows in the future if he impresses on loan at Force India.

Ocon has been a member of the Mercedes-Benz driver development programme for two years having previously impressed in the junior divisions of motor racing, and has been tipped to feature for the team at Formula One level in the future.

Last season he finished eighth in the driver rankings and has labelled this upcoming season as the most important of his career so far as he aims to impress enough to gain a future seat with Mercedes.

“I think it is one of the most important years of my career,” Ocon told Autosport.

“After learning a lot last year everybody is waiting for me to confirm this year, which is quite normal.

“It’s what my bosses are looking at. My career’s managed by Mercedes so my bosses set me some targets for this year and I have to respect them.

“I feel like if I do a strong job here there will always be plenty of opportunities, but at the moment I’m fully focused on Force India and that’s the important thing.”

Despite having one of the lowest budgets on the grid, Force India have finished fourth behind the elite teams of Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull two years in a row, with the team once again having Ocon and Sergio Perez behind the wheel in 2018.