Hamilton has a say over Mercedes' Bottas, Ocon choice

Toto Wolff has confirmed that Lewis Hamilton has been consulted over who he thinks should be his team-mate at Mercedes in 2020.

The Silver Arrows are set to choose between his current colleague Valtteri Bottas and Esteban Ocon, who has served as reserve driver this year after losing his spot on the grid.

When his Racing Point seat was taken by Lance Stroll, and moves to Renault, McLaren and Williams fizzled out, Wolff staunchly insisted that Ocon would be on the grid in 2020.

Now it has emerged that Hamilton could have a say in whether he returns with the champions or not.

"We make this decision solely on the basis of the interest of the team," Wolff told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"But Lewis has been with us for a long time, so, yes, I submitted our narrow list to him, asking for his opinion.

"He thinks exactly like us, both of them deserve to be his team-mate."

Ocon's comparative lack of top-level experience has been held up as a potential reason that the Silver Arrows might opt for Bottas, but Wolff has no qualms with putting his trust in youth.

Wolff added: "It is a difficult decision because I have known Valtteri since Formula Renault and Esteban since he made his start in Formula 3.

"There is the great theme of giving a young person a chance: in the recent history of the F1 only two drivers immediately shone with a top team: Lewis Hamilton with McLaren and Max Verstappen with Red Bull.

"The latter was very good at giving the Dutchman the necessary time to grow, first in Toro Rosso and then for two years at Red Bull. At Ferrari or Mercedes there is a very high pressure. Having said that, they both deserve the place."

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