df1708613fc7d382190fa9fb37920fe295663b80

Hamilton and Vettel defend Ocon as Frenchman's F1 future remains in doubt

18:15, 25 Aug 2018

byJake Williams-Smith

Esteban Ocon's Formula One future looks to be in serious doubt but the established veterans of the sport have come out in support of the Frenchman. Both Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel questioned the decision of dumping Ocon in favour of money, the former questioning the sport's structure.

After Force India were saved from administration by a consortium backed by Lawrence Stroll, Ocon's future at the team looked numbered as Lance Stroll looks to be on the way from Williams to replace him.

Speaking in the post-qualifying press conference, Hamilton admitted he admired Ocon's ability and that the structure of Formula One wasn't right if it was prioritising money over talent.

“I’ve always been supporter of Esteban. How he conducts himself and how he performs on track, he is exceptional," he told Motorsport.com.

“Unfortunately we’re in a weird place in Formula 1 where some teams, rather than take the up-and-coming kid, they take the money.

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

“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.

“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.”

Hamilton's title rival Vettel also came to the support of the Force India driver, praising Ocon on qualifying so high up the grid in such difficult conditions.

“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.”