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Wehrlein, Ocon progress to be watched closely – Wolff

Toto Wolff says he will watch Pascal Wehrlein and Esteban Ocon's progress during the 2017 Formula 1 World Championship closely after the Mercedes juniors secured their place on this year's grid.

The pair raced together at Manor Racing in 2016 but Ocon switches to Force India in 2017 with Wehrlein this week confirmed as a Sauber F1 driver.

In the week that saw Valtteri Bottas confirmed as Nico Rosberg's replacement in the title-winning Mercedes AMG Petronas team, the emergence that the Finn is on a one-year deal is being viewed as a possible opportunity for Ocon or Wehrlein to potentially prove themselves capable of a promotion in 2018.

Indeed, Wolff says he is keen to see how both Ocon and Wehrlein will fare in their new surroundings.

"It's been a busy week in the driver market and I am pleased to know that Pascal will be racing at Sauber to continue his development in F1. He had a good first season with Manor and we feel this is the right path for him in the sport.

"It's satisfying to have both of our Young Drivers taking on new challenges in F1 this year, with Esteban also racing at Force India. We'll be following their progress closely; I'm sure we've got an exciting season ahead of us."

Zdroj: crash.net