Esteban Ocon refuses to dwell on George Russell being given a Mercedes chance ahead of him, saying he is “very proud” of the route he has taken.

That pathway, of course, was to Renault, who are now branded Alpine, and Ocon enjoyed a second-place finish with them in the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix before famously bagging his first F1 victory at the Hungaroring last year.

A Mercedes junior driver since 2015, Ocon is nearly a year-and-a-half older than Russell and has been connected to the German giants for longer than the Briton.

His first F1 racing opportunity came in 2016 with Manor, after which he joined Force India/Racing Point for two seasons before being ousted in favour of Lance Stroll following the team’s buyout by the Canadian driver’s father.