It has been impossible to talk about Esteban Ocon in recent months without triggering an emotive reaction from someone.
Reigning Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton said Ocon being out of a drive shows the championship is in a "weird place" with a structure that is "probably wrong". Mercedes boss Toto Wolff slammed the "politics" and "lies" he believes are behind his protege facing a season on the sidelines.
Now, supposedly adding insult to career injury, a driver lower in the Mercedes pecking order has secured one of the seats Ocon viewed as his last chance. Williams has confirmed George Russell for 2019, meaning Mercedes will have a junior on the grid but not the one it has spent the past few months declaring a future world champion.