Carlos Sainz’s F1 future continues to hang in the balance. The Spaniard is believed to have three contractual offers with Mercedes, who are reportedly pondering on the possibility of giving the 29-year-old a fourth one. Amid this chaos, the teams and drivers are losing patience by playing the waiting game. Thus, Williams team principal James Vowles has revealed that he made a call to Esteban Ocon after receiving no response from Sainz so far.
“I have known Esteban for about ten years and I have worked with him. I called him after Monaco”, said Vowles according to Formulapassion.
The Williams team principal then hailed Ocon and added, “In my opinion, the world championship has been very hard on him. Esteban is very fast, at such a level that when he raced with Alonso, they were practically on par in qualifying.”
In a recent interview with Canal Plus, James Vowles talks about Esteban Ocon: “I have known Esteban for about ten years and I have worked with him, I called him after Monaco.”
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Vowles, at the Canadian GP, made it clear that Sainz is his top priority. However, despite having an offer from Williams and Audi, Sainz also entertained Alpine’s offer. The French team is believed to be the Spaniard’s top choice at the moment because of the release clause.
The Williams team principal would want a driver to commit to the project for a longer term and Sainz doesn’t seem to be that driver. Hence, Vowles is now starting to look elsewhere.
Joe Saward suggested that Valtteri Bottas had a meeting with the Williams boss at the British GP as well. The Finn has previously driven for the team and knows the people in and out. Although Vowles spoke highly of Ocon, the Frenchman might’ve already had the terms agreed with another team.
Ocon could sign with Haas
Soon after Alpine announced Ocon’s exit at the Canadian GP, the Frenchman began looking for a seat. Although Ocon doesn’t have a good track record with teammates, he is an incredibly fast driver and also a race-winner.
Haas has already announced Oliver Bearman as its first signing as Nico Hulkenberg’s replacement. Meanwhile, Kevin Magnussen’s days at Haas are reported to be numbered, with Ocon being the likeliest candidate to partner the Ferrari academy driver. Ocon spoke highly of Haas at the British GP amid these rumors.
According to Motorsportweek, Ocon said, “They’ve been improving a lot, which is for sure an example for every other team, how they are doing it at the moment.” Haas would preferably need a driver with experience alongside Bearman and Ocon ticks all the boxes in that department.
