Manor’s Esteban Ocon Nearing Deal With Force India

Mercedes prodigy Esteban Ocon is reportedly closing in on a deal with Force India to replace Nico Hulkenberg for next year.

Ocon, who was already being targeted by Renault, has long been on Force India’s shortlist of potential drivers for 2017, alongside Pascal Wehrlein, Jolyon Palmer and Felipe Nasr.

Despite all the other promising names, Ocon emerged as the leading candidate to fill in for Hulkenberg, though a deal is far from being finalized according to Autosport.

If the Ocon-Force India deal was to go through, it would provide Mercedes with a more competitive environment in which they could continue to asses the Frenchman’s talents. Also, it would mean that Marcus Ericsson would not be trading up his Sauber car for a Force India.

Furthermore, the 20-year old had previously tested for Force India in the past (2015), when the team was impressed with his performance behind the wheel of the VJM08.

Ocon has currently completed 7 races for Manor this year, with his two best results being P16 in Belgium and Malaysia.