Mercedes happy with my progress

London : Esteban Ocon says Mercedes is happy with the progress he made during his first full year in Formula 1 with Force India.

Ocon, who was voted number five in Autosport’s team principals’ top 10 drivers poll, finished eighth in the standings, one place and 13 points behind team-mate Sergio Perez.

The Mercedes junior saw the chequered flag in all but one of the 20 races and scored points in 18 of them.

“Force India are happy with the job I’m doing and also Mercedes are happy with what I’m doing,” Ocon said.

“So if everyone is happy, I just have to continue and do everything I can.”

Ocon says he keeps in regular contact with Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff with the works team doing the same with Force India to chart his progress.

“Most of the time we speak on the phone, sometimes at the track as well,” he said.

“They call me for a quick meeting, 35-40 minutes, to see how I’m getting on, what are my issues, whether I should have improved.

“They also have meetings with Force India to see how my development is going.

“They are very close to me, to how I’m performing, which is normal. They are my main sponsor and I’m part of the development programme.

“They are really interested in what I’m doing, and I think it’s a good thing.”

Ocon said he is not allowing himself to look further ahead at the possibility of promotion to the Mercedes team in the future.

“At the moment, I’m focusing on the job I’m doing at Force India,” he said.