How a handshake sealed Ocon's fate
Esteban Ocon went from two options to none in the space of a summer, but it was one handshake in a two-way battle that began what could become an F1 exile
That someone as quick as Esteban Ocon has been left with nowhere to go for 2019 is a travesty. And it has prompted a lot of reflection about the state of F1 - whether it be the struggles youngsters face in making the grid, or the growing influence of manufacturers and their driver-development programmes.
But dig a little deeper into the events of the summer and you quickly realise that how Ocon went from having two firm offers for 2019 to nothing in the space of a few weeks has little to do with the wider global picture of F1.
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About this article
| Series | Formula 1 |
| Drivers | Esteban Ocon |
| Author | Jonathan Noble |