Confirmed: Esteban Ocon joins Force India for 2017 season on a multi-year deal

It was confirmed on Thursday (10/11/16) Manor Racing driver and current GP3 Champion Esteban Ocon will race with Force India as their second driver alongside Sergio Pérez for 2017 season on a multi-year deal (rumoured to be a two year deal with an option for a third season).



Ocon, has been backed by Mercedes for a couple of years as one of their development drivers and claimed successive titles in European Formula 3 and GP3, before earning a mid-season graduation to Formula 1 with Manor replacing Rio Haryanto.



Ocon was touted as a possible Renault driver going into the 2017 F1 season after spending time with the team at the opening half of 2016 as the team's test and reserve driver.



However, Ocon have opted for the second Force India seat alongside Pérez at Force India for 2017, which opened up when current Force India driver Nico Hülkenberg elected to drive for Renault next season.



In my opinion, this is not a big surprise this news happen. It has been strongly rumoured since the United States Grand Prix that Ocon was the number one choice for Force India to replace Nico Hülkenberg for 2017 which included testing for the team during the 2015 season, which the team was impressive with his testing performance.

Things are looking up for Force India in 2017.