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Mercedes are keeping a close eye on junior drivers Esteban Ocon and Pascal Wehrlein after their impressive displays so far this season, according to the boss of Mercedes, Toto Wolff.
Ocon received a Force India call-up at the end of last season to partner Sergio Perez for 2017, while Wehrlein missed out on a seat at Mercedes when Nico Rosberg retired, instead joining Sauber. However, both have been mightily impressive so far. Ocon has finished in the points in every race to date, while Wehrlein claimed his first points of the season last time out in Spain.
Speaking about the Spanish Grand Prix, Wolff praised the drives: "If you look at the results, both Pascal and Esteban had a really good weekend,” said Wolff. “Pascal made the one-stop strategy work and could have been P7 – but P8 is still very good for him and very valuable points for Sauber.
“I’m happy to see how Pascal has fitted into the team. He speaks highly about the team and is on a great learning curve. As for Esteban, Force India have been very successful in scoring regular points. Esteban is making a good contribution to that. He will really need to stretch himself to beat Checo (Pérez), who is the benchmark for him, but I’m interested to see how that battle develops.
This weekend in Monaco, Ocon will be making his debut around the tight and twisting streets while last year, Wehrlein finished P14 after a wet to dry Monaco Grand Prix.
Fergal Walsh
Grand Prix of Belgium
C. Sainz jr
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They have no doubt proved that they belong in F1. Ocon is already measuring up quite well against Perez, a pretty good driver.