How 'hidden agendas' of F1 academies exiled Ocon

The role that Formula 1 junior programmes play in developing young talent has been a hot topic in recent weeks. One driver in particular, Esteban Ocon, has stoked emotions as he faces being left without a seat for 2019 as a direct result of his links with Mercedes. Rob Watts explores the reasons why.

Motor racing is, and always has been, an expensive sport. F1 arguably sits at the very top of that tree, commanding huge audiences and exposure, but also demanding the highest cost to enter.

Gone are the days of no-hopers such as Jean-Denis Deletraz and Taki Inoue occupying F1 seats, when the barrier to entry was much lower, both in terms of talent and ability.

These days, any driver that makes it to F1 is likely an exceptional talent, groomed to compete from an early age, PR savvy and with at least one major junior category win to their name.

But sometimes, all of that just isn't enough. While the standard of debutants has increased ten-fold over the past 20 years, it still appears to be as tough as ever to make it to the F1 grid on ability alone. For some drivers, it's even tougher to stay there.

Take a look at this season's F1 grid for example. Aged just 20, Max Verstappen is perhaps the brightest young talent to have entered the sport in at least a decade. The son of ex-F1 racer Jos, Verstappen is already a 'veteran' of 75 Grand Prix starts and, having recently signed a multi-million dollar contract, his long-term future is secure.

In contrast, Ocon - the man who beat Verstappen to the Euro F3 title in 2014 - has never had more than a one-year deal and despite his obvious ability, is likely to spend 2019 without an F1 drive.

Both were signed to a top junior programme early in their careers and graduated to F1 while still in their teens. The difference? Red Bull took a punt on Verstappen by promoting him to their top team, while Mercedes sent Ocon to tough it out in F1's midfield as the team opted for a 'safer pair of hands' in the form of Valtteri Bottas.

WHY OCON IS ON THE SIDELINES

Verstappen's 17 podium finishes and four Grand Prix wins go some way to vindicating Red Bull's decision. Although Ocon is yet to reach the podium, he has largely matched his more experienced teammate Sergio Perez in 'B Class' machinery, enough to catch the attention of teams such as Renault and McLaren.

So why, if he's that good, has he been left in limbo and without a contract for next year? Why have none of the other midfield teams snapped him up?

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, the man with the final say on where Ocon drives, blamed "hidden agendas" and "lies" for his protege's predicament and is said to be furious with Renault for going back on their word to sign Ocon for 2019 and hiring Daniel Ricciardo instead.

The factors that led to Ocon's uncertain future are largely consistent with the downsides of being part of an F1 junior programme.

Ocon's initial plan was to stay with Force India, but the team's financial troubles led to a buyout of the team by Lance Stroll's billionaire father. As a result, there is now no room for Ocon as Perez is rumoured to have already signed a deal to partner Stroll, when the Canadian makes the expected switch from Williams.

Then there was Renault. Paddock chat for several weeks before the summer break treated Ocon's move to the French team as a matter of 'when' and not 'if'. A deal was rumoured to be done, only for Renault to announce at the eleventh hour that they'd signed Ricciardo instead, infuriating Wolff in the process.

With two doors having closed for Ocon, McLaren appeared to be his only decent option left. At least one seat was likely up for grabs as uncertainty hung over Fernando Alonso's future and Stoffel Vandoorne's wretched run of form prompted the team to look elsewhere.

A seat-fitting was rumoured to have taken place, but McLaren were ultimately put off by Ocon's ties to Mercedes. They knew Ocon would only be on loan with little chance of a long-term deal and instead turned to a junior of their own, Lando Norris, to partner Carlos Sainz Jr.

Now, Ocon is left with a slim chance of securing a deal with Williams, the only other team on the grid powered by Mercedes, but a more likely scenario seems to be him sitting out next season altogether.

A BLESSING OR A CURSE?

Taking a year out is risky as F1 moves on very quickly, but it may be a decision that's now out of Ocon's hands. Pascal Wehrlein was in a similar situation just 12 months ago, but he's slipped off the F1 radar since leaving Sauber and it was announced last week that he would be severing ties with Mercedes altogether after six years in the Silver Arrows' stable.

Ironically, Wehrlein could now have a better chance of being on the grid next year than Ocon, as he is free to speak any team, including Toro Rosso, who he has been heavily linked with.

Ocon admits that it's unlikely he would have made it to F1 without the support from Mercedes earlier in his career as he neither came from a wealthy family or had a cash-rich sponsor to back him up.

But now he's there, he's a proven talent and looks like a future race-winner given the right opportunity. Had he not been tied to Mercedes, McLaren would have probably had significantly more interest in signing him and he may even have rivalled Pierre Gasly for Red Bull seat vacated by Ricciardo.

It's understandable that F1 teams would be unwilling to spend time and money developing talent, only to see a rival snap them up for nothing. But at the same time, something must change to ensure teams cannot stockpile young talent and continue to dictate their career direction if they cannot guarantee that driver a place on the F1 grid.

Just this week, Sauber announced that Antonio Giovinazzi would finally make his full F1 debut after a couple of brief cameos at the beginning of last season. He's been placed there due to the Swiss team's long-standing tie-up with Ferrari, who brought Giovinazzi into their young driver academy off the back of his impressive GP2 campaign in 2016.

The likelihood is that Ferrari probably needed to exercise their right to place him there, as Giovinazzi may have opted to end his association with the Scuderia had he been forced to spend a third straight year in reserve. Use him, or lose him, basically.

Ocon aside, there have been plenty of success stories on the F1 grid and teams such as McLaren and Red Bull have used their programmes to good effect in recent years – just look at the top of the drivers' standings for two such examples.

Red Bull's admirable commitment to developing talent saw Verstappen handed an F1 debut at just 17 before he was fast-tracked into the senior team 18 months later. Gasly, another of their young proteges, has followed a similar path and will move up from Toro Rosso to partner Verstappen next season.

Elsewhere on the grid, McLaren young gun Norris will become Britain's youngest F1 debutant next year, while Charles Leclerc will be the youngest to race for Ferrari since the 1960s after a stellar first season with Sauber.

THE REAL PROBLEM

There are some obvious positives to being backed by a team at an early age, and these far outweigh the negatives for a driver trying to make it into F1. But today, more so than ever, it is perhaps easier to get to F1 than it is to stay there, and this is where F1 junior programmes can be a hindrance.

Being part of one is no guarantee of security or of a path to progress further up the grid. Just ask Daniil Kvyat that. In fact, the work only intensifies as a driver must prove their worth to the team and show that continued investment is justified.

At the end of the day, it's a risk for both parties. If a team uncovers a star, like a Hamilton or Verstappen, their investment is more than justified. Both parties win in that situation. But if a driver struggles or takes longer to adapt or develop than their counterparts, being an F1 junior can be an incredibly stressful position for a youngster to be in.

Multi-million dollar F1 teams can quickly cast aside a struggling driver and move straight on to the next one with little to no thought, whereas a young driver released by a top team may face an uphill battle to rebuild their career, burdened with an unwanted association with failure.

So what's the answer? More cars on the grid would definitely help. Teams such as HRT, Caterham, and Manor may not have brought much to the sharp end of the grid, but they served a purpose and their presence was more than justified in many other ways.

In hindsight, perhaps the FIA should have done more to safeguard their future.

Drivers like Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, Ricciardo and the much missed Jules Bianchi all got their breaks with teams at the back of the grid, and in more recent years, the now-defunct Manor gave F1 debuts to Wehrlein and Ocon.

With no new teams on the horizon, there are fewer opportunities for young drivers to get a break and sharpen their skills while operating under the radar for a little while.

AN EXAMPLE TO FOLLOW?

Just this week, Formula 2 racer Alex Albon signed with the Nissan e.dams team in Formula E, having been mentioned as a candidate for a vacant Toro Rosso seat in 2019. Albon was actually dropped by Red Bull back in 2012 at the tender age of 16, and just a year later was let go by the Gravity Management programme that had links to the Lotus F1 team.

Despite this setback, Albon has rebuilt his career and his form this year has seen him linked to an F1 graduation and a return to Red Bull's junior programme.

Instead, Albon has seemingly decided that a manufacturer seat in Formula E is a better deal than being chewed up and spat out by a midfield F1 team desperate for short-term results.

Albon should be praised for his maturity in taking this approach, and with so few chances for young drivers to impressive in F1, we should expect to see more of his like taking the same route soon.

Outgoing McLaren driver Vandoorne is another likely to be cast aside by F1 at the end of this season. He’s been linked to the Mercedes-backed HWA entry in Formula E next year, a move that could be the making of the Belgian after two rough seasons.

With the likes of Ocon, Werhlein, Vandoorne, and Russell struggling to find a way onto the F1 grid next year, the sport's loss could well be Formula E's gain.