"I rather doubt," an Italian colleague murmured on race morning at Monza, "that Kimi is going to help Sebastian very much today." How so? "Well," my friend went on, "this could be his last chance to win a grand prix - and they've told him he's out..."
Raikkonen and Vettel get along well, which is one reason why Seb has always been keen for Kimi's one-year Ferrari contracts to be renewed; the other, more significantly, is that if asked, he has long proved willing to ride shotgun, and that really sits well with Vettel.
Right enough, though, at Monza Raikkonen - starting from pole - was clearly in business for himself, and if Vettel hoped for an easy ride at the first chicane, he didn't get it. Having taken that on board, what Seb should then have done was simply tail Kimi, keeping a weather eye on Lewis Hamilton, until DRS was activated.
As it was, yet again he couldn't contain his impatience, and when that happens he makes mistakes. Into the next chicane - this a left-right - he extraordinarily went left of Raikkonen, leaving a 'clean air' path on the right gratefully seized upon by Hamilton.
Halfway through they unsurprisingly touched, and it was the Ferrari that spun: while Lewis went after Kimi, eventually going on to one of his greatest victories, Seb found himself dead last.
That being so, from lap one of the Italian Grand Prix onwards, it was effectively one Ferrari against two Mercedes, and after the leaders' stops Valtteri Bottas - still to come in - dutifully delayed Raikkonen, obliging him to run in dirty air for many laps, which took its toll on his tyres, allowing Hamilton to pass without problem eight laps from the end.
Given that the Ferraris had the front row to themselves, this should have been the end of an eight-year Monza drought; as it was, Vettel blew it, his assumption of cooperation from Raikkonen on this occasion misplaced. Perhaps, as my pal had suggested, in light of the news recently received by his team-mate, Seb might have seen that coming.
Long ago I asked Gerhard Berger to define his ideal team-mate, and he laughed: "Oh, anyone three seconds a lap slower - that's why Senna was happier with me at McLaren than he was with Prost!" Self-deprecating, sure, as Gerhard invariably was, but on this occasion not altogether facetious.
"Never," he went on, "believe all this bullshit from guys saying they really want a super-quick team-mate - mainly what they want is someone who isn't going to threaten them! It's always been like that."
So it has. I remember Mario Andretti's growling response when Colin Chapman did a deal to bring Ronnie Peterson back to Lotus for 1978: "Tell me where it's written we need two stars in this team..."
Recently, Bernie Ecclestone, when asked to pick the outstanding driver of his decades of running Formula 1, went for Alain Prost: "Unlike Senna, unlike Schumacher, he never tried to stop his team putting another superstar in the other car - when he won all those championships, he had opposition."
Although by a single point Raikkonen won the world championship in 2007, his first year in red, more often than not he was outpaced by his team-mates, be they Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso or Vettel, yet - in two spells - he has had eight seasons with Ferrari, by my reckoning a record bettered only by Michael Schumacher, who did 11 straight from 1996 on.
It's an irony that Maranello should finally call it a day with Kimi after what has been his best season since rejoining the team in 2014. There haven't been any victories - his last for Ferrari came at Spa in 2009 - but he has looked leaner and fitter than for a long time, and there have been flashes of the almighty pace sometimes evident in his McLaren years.
This year's car suits him well, and for Raikkonen that has always been a prerequisite; as we saw with that dog of a Ferrari in 2014, by no means does he have Alonso's gift for being better than his car.
What an enigmatic figure Kimi-Matias Raikkonen has always been. Dour and poker-faced, monosyllabic in his bored dealings with the press, the other side of him - rarely seen at a race track - is different again, and he has long been known as a party animal in the mould of Mike Hawthorn. It was not by chance that he showed up at Monaco a few years ago sporting a 'James Hunt' helmet, and he has said that he was born too late, that he would been much more in his element in the Formula 1 of the 1970s.
Raikkonen's enduring popularity with the fans stems, I am sure, from the fact that he is so different from the typical 21st century grand prix driver, utterly - almost uniquely - immune from the smothering constraints of PR, and in this dreary climate of political correctness a throwback to a time many of us savoured more than now. I remember a McLaren press lunch years ago, when Martin Whitmarsh was asked about 'Kimi's drinking problem'. "Oh," Martin laughed, "I don't think Kimi has any problem drinking..."
In point of fact, like virtually all who have worked with him down the years, Whitmarsh, while admitting to finding Raikkonen in many respects maddening, remains fond of him.
"When Kimi was at McLaren, he hated Ron [Dennis] with a passion, but I always got on fine with him - in fact, when he was pushed out of Ferrari at the end of '09, I thought of signing him again. We were in negotiations with his management, but they were being a bit... commercially ambitious, and then Jenson [Button] became available, so that was that. Off he went rallying for a couple of years.
"Kimi is deeply frustrating. He's as smart as he is, and has so much pace - it just pissed you off that he compromised it. He's never realised his potential, and that's a great shame"Martin Whitmarsh
"Kimi is very insightful, with a dry sense of humour. I really like the bloke, and actually he's quite a misunderstood individual. Yes, he has always liked to party, but he's actually much more disciplined about training than most people realise, and he's also one of the sharpest drivers out there. Because he doesn't say very much, and has a generally flippant demeanour, people wouldn't necessarily think that.
"Another thing is that, in my opinion, Kimi's one of the best drivers when it comes to understanding the car, and communicating that. 'Communicating' and 'Kimi' in the same sentence might seem like a bit of a strange one, but I'm a big fan of his: he can still be very quick, and he's smart, too, so you can say he's got all the ingredients - but what he's never had is the dedication.
"I remember one year in Montreal - it was a back-to-back, and we were going on to Indianapolis the next weekend. On the Sunday night he was going to fly to Vegas, to party with his mates, and I said, 'Kimi, at the end of the day you're an adult - you're going to do what you're going to do, and we can't stop you - but I just want to put this question to you.'
"Just like now, there wasn't a lot of overtaking, and qualifying well was vital. I said to him, 'If, in six days' time, you miss pole position at Indy by five thousandths of a second - which could happen - and you've flown from Montreal to Vegas, into a different time zone, partied and had a drink or two, and then flown all the way back to Indianapolis, won't you want to kick yourself really fucking hard?' He smiled at me, and nodded - didn't say it, but seemed to agree - and then an hour later flew off to Vegas! At the time he was in the championship fight!
"Kimi is deeply frustrating, in that he's as smart as he is, and has so much pace - and it just pissed you off that he compromised it. As well as others best forgotten, he had days with McLaren that bordered on genius. As it is, he's never realised his potential, and that's a great shame."
So it is, but I suspect it troubles Raikkonen not too much. Like most observers, I always assumed that as and when Ferrari finally replaced him, he would call time on his Formula 1 career, but in fact it is to be bookended by Sauber, with whom he made his debut back in 2001. Given that he came in straight from Formula Renault, there were those, including FIA president Max Mosley, who questioned his eligibility for a superlicence: in his first grand prix - his 24th motor race - he finished sixth.
Under the stewardship of Fred Vasseur, and with bountiful assistance from Alfa Romeo (Ferrari), Sauber has undergone something of a transformation in 2018, but even so Raikkonen's move back there has surprised many - as, frankly, has Sauber's willingness to sign a driver of 39 with so many promising youngsters in the wings.
Kimi's experience will of course be of great value to Sauber, and neither will his presence hurt team sponsorship. Being the sort of man he is, probably he will relish a less intense environment, but in the end he is continuing - already with enough money for several lifetimes - because, cheques apart, the one and only aspect of Formula 1 that has ever appealed to him is driving the car. As and when retirement finally comes, it would amaze me to see him ever again in an F1 paddock.
Through the summer it was confidently expected that Charles Leclerc would replace Raikkonen at Ferrari in 2019, but following the death of Sergio Marchionne most believed that Vettel would again successfully steer the management towards Kimi. Ferrari, after all, is hardly known for taking a chance on young drivers - its serious look at Nico Hulkenberg four years ago ultimately came to nothing - and most were surprised when Leclerc was confirmed.
That said, everything about this understated Monegasque suggests he is headed for greatness, and once he has settled into his new surroundings it will be fascinating to see how Vettel responds. Will it bring out the best in him, take his game to a new level, or might it revive memories of his ill-tempered 2014 season, during which - after winning four championships on the trot - he reacted negatively to the instant pace of new Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo?
"July and August was unbelievable - politics in the background, hidden agendas, lies. Esteban had two offers on the table with contracts. He ended without either because people don't have the balls to stick to what they say"Toto Wolff
While Leclerc arrives at Ferrari, Pierre Gasly replaces Danny Ricc at Red Bull, and if it pleases me to see a pair of newcomers in 'A-list' teams, there is another side to this coin. As things stand, neither Esteban Ocon nor Stoffel Vandoorne have anything to drive in 2019, and that is a travesty.
"Formula 1 has lost its way, hasn't it?" said Martin Brundle. "It's supposed to be the 20 fastest drivers in the world, and... it just isn't. It's a great indictment of the sport today that we can't get Fernando Alonso - in many places the most popular driver - a competitive ride, yet we can accommodate people bringing vast quantities of money."
Vandoorne's grand prix career to date has been beyond disappointing, and that says everything about the wretched state of McLaren in this era. Whereas Hamilton arrived in Formula 1 with the fastest car, Stoffel has been stuck with one that not even Alonso could coax anywhere near a podium. As Anthony Davidson said: "He's been up against the benchmark, the best in the business."
"Remember Vandoorne's first race," said Brundle, "standing in for Alonso at Bahrain a couple of years ago - he outqualified Button, and finished in the points. All the way through, in GP2 and so on, he'd looked sensational, hadn't he? I really hope he gets another shot - he's far too good for Formula 1 to lose."
So he is, but just as Vandoorne supplanted Kevin Magnussen in McLaren affections three years ago, now Lando Norris gets the nod to partner Carlos Sainz Jr - similarly leapfrogged by Gasly at Red Bull - in 2019.
"Personally," said Brundle, "I thought Sainz was a no-brainer for Red Bull - I don't think he's Verstappen quick, but he's quick enough, and he's got his dad's winning mentality about him. I'm a big fan of his - I like the way he drives, the way he goes about it, and McLaren have been smart to sign him. If they finally come up with a decent car next year, he could do an outstanding job for them."
Not so long ago in the frame for a move to McLaren, following the sea changes at Force India, was the highly touted Ocon, but a more likely destination was Renault, and when neither came to pass, Toto Wolff - without naming names - raged at the turn of events.
"What went on in July and August," he said in Singapore, "was just unbelievable - so much politics in the background, hidden agendas, lies. In July Esteban had two offers on the table with contracts, and it was just a matter of choosing which was the right one. He ended up not having either any more because people simply don't have the balls to stick to what they say."
In this day and age it is mighty unusual - dare one say refreshing - to see one of the gurus of the paddock step out of the PR cocoon, and speak his mind, but as I listened to what he had to say, I couldn't help but think, 'Live by the sword...' While a charming fellow, Toto himself, after all, is hardly renowned as a softie: in the manner of Jean Todt in his Ferrari days, his focus is squarely - rightly - on what is best for Mercedes, and in a pitiless commercial world it was surely unrealistic to expect anything else from fellow team principals.
Everything was precipitated by the change in ownership at Force India, which put Ocon on the street for 2019, and then by Ricciardo's decision to part ways with Red Bull: as Cyril Abiteboul put it, "If Daniel was available, how could we not sign him?" The logic was unarguable, and I somewhat doubt that anyone in Abiteboul's position, presented with the unexpected opportunity of a dream signing, would have behaved differently. 'After you, Claude' appertains no more in the paddock than on the race track.
It is a relatively recent phenomenon in Formula 1 that many a young driver is 'owned' by this team or that, and this has repercussions both good and bad. Whatever decisions might have been reached by either Renault or McLaren, Ocon's dilemma was initially spawned by the fact that his safe seat at Force India was wiped away by the change in the team's ownership.
There were suggestions Ocon might be moved aside, but Stroll was savvy enough to see it might not be smart to change teams mid-season and be blitzed in an unfamiliar car by the underrated, if erratic, Perez
I think back now to 10 years ago, to the first grand prix in Valencia, to chatting with Bernie Ecclestone in the paddock, looking across the harbour at Vijay Mallya's imposing yacht. "What d'you think?" said Bernie. "Has he got any money? I don't know..."
Mallya's subsequent financial tribulations have been well documented, and given the constraints under which it has necessarily operated, his team's achievements have been little short of phenomenal. Sooner or later, though, a point of no return was going to materialise, and in the summer legal action taken by Sergio Perez created circumstances in which the team could be saved - by a consortium headed by Lawrence Stroll.
While doubtless considering it a good business opportunity in itself, the Canadian billionaire's move was motivated also by a wish to buy his son Lance into a better car than that currently on offer from Williams. Given the team's reluctance to lose Perez with his Mexican sponsorship, it was always going to be Ocon who would make way for Stroll.
Initially indeed there were suggestions that Esteban might be moved aside forthwith, but Lance was savvy enough to see it might not be the smartest thing to change teams at mid-season, to be almost inevitably blitzed in an unfamiliar car by the underrated, if erratic, Perez. Instead he will step aboard a Force India - or wherever it is called by then - in Melbourne next March, when the likelihood is that the abundantly talented Ocon will be kicking his heels.
(A brief digression, if you will. How on earth the drivethrough penalty incurred by Perez in Singapore, when he lost his rag and plainly drove into Sergey Sirotkin, was no more severe than that later handed out to Sirotkin himself for squeezing Brendon Hartley I remain at a loss to understand. This was one of Sergio's flaky days: already, on the opening lap, he had omitted to steer quite enough to avoid putting his own team-mate in the wall. Not surprisingly, a livid Otmar Szafnauer afterwards declared a resumption of the 'no racing' rule imposed on his drivers after comings-together in 2017).
"I find this 'ownership' of drivers difficult to fathom sometimes," said Brundle. Him and me both. "Until the deal came up with Ricciardo, Ocon was all set for Renault - but actually, given that he's a 'Mercedes man', I could never quite understand why they would place him at Renault - and even more difficult to comprehend was why Renault would take him: why train up someone else's driver, and give him all your knowledge? I couldn't get my head round that at all."
Nor I, but it is all part of Formula 1's changing landscape, in which too much power resides with too few people, and young drivers are passed around like a tray of cakes. Wolff insists that sooner or later his boy Ocon will be a Mercedes driver, which doubtless sent a shiver down the back of Bottas: might it be that, in light of recently underwhelming performances by Valtteri, Toto now regrets confirming him for 2019 as early as he did, and wishes instead he could pair his potential superstar with Hamilton, as Ferrari have done with Vettel and Leclerc?
One suspects that Lewis, currently in the most imperious form of his life, would fret about that rather less than Sebastian.
"I rather doubt," an Italian colleague murmured on race morning at Monza, "that Kimi is going to help Sebastian very much today." How so? "Well," my friend went on, "this could be his last chance to win a grand prix - and they've told him he's out..."
Raikkonen and Vettel get along well, which is one reason why Seb has always been keen for Kimi's one-year Ferrari contracts to be renewed; the other, more significantly, is that if asked, he has long proved willing to ride shotgun, and that really sits well with Vettel.
Right enough, though, at Monza Raikkonen - starting from pole - was clearly in business for himself, and if Vettel hoped for an easy ride at the first chicane, he didn't get it. Having taken that on board, what Seb should then have done was simply tail Kimi, keeping a weather eye on Lewis Hamilton, until DRS was activated.
As it was, yet again he couldn't contain his impatience, and when that happens he makes mistakes. Into the next chicane - this a left-right - he extraordinarily went left of Raikkonen, leaving a 'clean air' path on the right gratefully seized upon by Hamilton.
Halfway through they unsurprisingly touched, and it was the Ferrari that spun: while Lewis went after Kimi, eventually going on to one of his greatest victories, Seb found himself dead last.
That being so, from lap one of the Italian Grand Prix onwards, it was effectively one Ferrari against two Mercedes, and after the leaders' stops Valtteri Bottas - still to come in - dutifully delayed Raikkonen, obliging him to run in dirty air for many laps, which took its toll on his tyres, allowing Hamilton to pass without problem eight laps from the end.
Given that the Ferraris had the front row to themselves, this should have been the end of an eight-year Monza drought; as it was, Vettel blew it, his assumption of cooperation from Raikkonen on this occasion misplaced. Perhaps, as my pal had suggested, in light of the news recently received by his team-mate, Seb might have seen that coming.
Long ago I asked Gerhard Berger to define his ideal team-mate, and he laughed: "Oh, anyone three seconds a lap slower - that's why Senna was happier with me at McLaren than he was with Prost!" Self-deprecating, sure, as Gerhard invariably was, but on this occasion not altogether facetious.
"Never," he went on, "believe all this bullshit from guys saying they really want a super-quick team-mate - mainly what they want is someone who isn't going to threaten them! It's always been like that."
So it has. I remember Mario Andretti's growling response when Colin Chapman did a deal to bring Ronnie Peterson back to Lotus for 1978: "Tell me where it's written we need two stars in this team..."
Recently, Bernie Ecclestone, when asked to pick the outstanding driver of his decades of running Formula 1, went for Alain Prost: "Unlike Senna, unlike Schumacher, he never tried to stop his team putting another superstar in the other car - when he won all those championships, he had opposition."
Although by a single point Raikkonen won the world championship in 2007, his first year in red, more often than not he was outpaced by his team-mates, be they Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso or Vettel, yet - in two spells - he has had eight seasons with Ferrari, by my reckoning a record bettered only by Michael Schumacher, who did 11 straight from 1996 on.
It's an irony that Maranello should finally call it a day with Kimi after what has been his best season since rejoining the team in 2014. There haven't been any victories - his last for Ferrari came at Spa in 2009 - but he has looked leaner and fitter than for a long time, and there have been flashes of the almighty pace sometimes evident in his McLaren years.
This year's car suits him well, and for Raikkonen that has always been a prerequisite; as we saw with that dog of a Ferrari in 2014, by no means does he have Alonso's gift for being better than his car.
What an enigmatic figure Kimi-Matias Raikkonen has always been. Dour and poker-faced, monosyllabic in his bored dealings with the press, the other side of him - rarely seen at a race track - is different again, and he has long been known as a party animal in the mould of Mike Hawthorn. It was not by chance that he showed up at Monaco a few years ago sporting a 'James Hunt' helmet, and he has said that he was born too late, that he would been much more in his element in the Formula 1 of the 1970s.
Raikkonen's enduring popularity with the fans stems, I am sure, from the fact that he is so different from the typical 21st century grand prix driver, utterly - almost uniquely - immune from the smothering constraints of PR, and in this dreary climate of political correctness a throwback to a time many of us savoured more than now. I remember a McLaren press lunch years ago, when Martin Whitmarsh was asked about 'Kimi's drinking problem'. "Oh," Martin laughed, "I don't think Kimi has any problem drinking..."
In point of fact, like virtually all who have worked with him down the years, Whitmarsh, while admitting to finding Raikkonen in many respects maddening, remains fond of him.
"When Kimi was at McLaren, he hated Ron [Dennis] with a passion, but I always got on fine with him - in fact, when he was pushed out of Ferrari at the end of '09, I thought of signing him again. We were in negotiations with his management, but they were being a bit... commercially ambitious, and then Jenson [Button] became available, so that was that. Off he went rallying for a couple of years.
"Kimi is deeply frustrating. He's as smart as he is, and has so much pace - it just pissed you off that he compromised it. He's never realised his potential, and that's a great shame"Martin Whitmarsh
"Kimi is very insightful, with a dry sense of humour. I really like the bloke, and actually he's quite a misunderstood individual. Yes, he has always liked to party, but he's actually much more disciplined about training than most people realise, and he's also one of the sharpest drivers out there. Because he doesn't say very much, and has a generally flippant demeanour, people wouldn't necessarily think that.
"Another thing is that, in my opinion, Kimi's one of the best drivers when it comes to understanding the car, and communicating that. 'Communicating' and 'Kimi' in the same sentence might seem like a bit of a strange one, but I'm a big fan of his: he can still be very quick, and he's smart, too, so you can say he's got all the ingredients - but what he's never had is the dedication.
"I remember one year in Montreal - it was a back-to-back, and we were going on to Indianapolis the next weekend. On the Sunday night he was going to fly to Vegas, to party with his mates, and I said, 'Kimi, at the end of the day you're an adult - you're going to do what you're going to do, and we can't stop you - but I just want to put this question to you.'
"Just like now, there wasn't a lot of overtaking, and qualifying well was vital. I said to him, 'If, in six days' time, you miss pole position at Indy by five thousandths of a second - which could happen - and you've flown from Montreal to Vegas, into a different time zone, partied and had a drink or two, and then flown all the way back to Indianapolis, won't you want to kick yourself really fucking hard?' He smiled at me, and nodded - didn't say it, but seemed to agree - and then an hour later flew off to Vegas! At the time he was in the championship fight!
"Kimi is deeply frustrating, in that he's as smart as he is, and has so much pace - and it just pissed you off that he compromised it. As well as others best forgotten, he had days with McLaren that bordered on genius. As it is, he's never realised his potential, and that's a great shame."
So it is, but I suspect it troubles Raikkonen not too much. Like most observers, I always assumed that as and when Ferrari finally replaced him, he would call time on his Formula 1 career, but in fact it is to be bookended by Sauber, with whom he made his debut back in 2001. Given that he came in straight from Formula Renault, there were those, including FIA president Max Mosley, who questioned his eligibility for a superlicence: in his first grand prix - his 24th motor race - he finished sixth.
Under the stewardship of Fred Vasseur, and with bountiful assistance from Alfa Romeo (Ferrari), Sauber has undergone something of a transformation in 2018, but even so Raikkonen's move back there has surprised many - as, frankly, has Sauber's willingness to sign a driver of 39 with so many promising youngsters in the wings.
Kimi's experience will of course be of great value to Sauber, and neither will his presence hurt team sponsorship. Being the sort of man he is, probably he will relish a less intense environment, but in the end he is continuing - already with enough money for several lifetimes - because, cheques apart, the one and only aspect of Formula 1 that has ever appealed to him is driving the car. As and when retirement finally comes, it would amaze me to see him ever again in an F1 paddock.
Through the summer it was confidently expected that Charles Leclerc would replace Raikkonen at Ferrari in 2019, but following the death of Sergio Marchionne most believed that Vettel would again successfully steer the management towards Kimi. Ferrari, after all, is hardly known for taking a chance on young drivers - its serious look at Nico Hulkenberg four years ago ultimately came to nothing - and most were surprised when Leclerc was confirmed.
That said, everything about this understated Monegasque suggests he is headed for greatness, and once he has settled into his new surroundings it will be fascinating to see how Vettel responds. Will it bring out the best in him, take his game to a new level, or might it revive memories of his ill-tempered 2014 season, during which - after winning four championships on the trot - he reacted negatively to the instant pace of new Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo?
"July and August was unbelievable - politics in the background, hidden agendas, lies. Esteban had two offers on the table with contracts. He ended without either because people don't have the balls to stick to what they say"Toto Wolff
While Leclerc arrives at Ferrari, Pierre Gasly replaces Danny Ricc at Red Bull, and if it pleases me to see a pair of newcomers in 'A-list' teams, there is another side to this coin. As things stand, neither Esteban Ocon nor Stoffel Vandoorne have anything to drive in 2019, and that is a travesty.
"Formula 1 has lost its way, hasn't it?" said Martin Brundle. "It's supposed to be the 20 fastest drivers in the world, and... it just isn't. It's a great indictment of the sport today that we can't get Fernando Alonso - in many places the most popular driver - a competitive ride, yet we can accommodate people bringing vast quantities of money."
Vandoorne's grand prix career to date has been beyond disappointing, and that says everything about the wretched state of McLaren in this era. Whereas Hamilton arrived in Formula 1 with the fastest car, Stoffel has been stuck with one that not even Alonso could coax anywhere near a podium. As Anthony Davidson said: "He's been up against the benchmark, the best in the business."
"Remember Vandoorne's first race," said Brundle, "standing in for Alonso at Bahrain a couple of years ago - he outqualified Button, and finished in the points. All the way through, in GP2 and so on, he'd looked sensational, hadn't he? I really hope he gets another shot - he's far too good for Formula 1 to lose."
So he is, but just as Vandoorne supplanted Kevin Magnussen in McLaren affections three years ago, now Lando Norris gets the nod to partner Carlos Sainz Jr - similarly leapfrogged by Gasly at Red Bull - in 2019.
"Personally," said Brundle, "I thought Sainz was a no-brainer for Red Bull - I don't think he's Verstappen quick, but he's quick enough, and he's got his dad's winning mentality about him. I'm a big fan of his - I like the way he drives, the way he goes about it, and McLaren have been smart to sign him. If they finally come up with a decent car next year, he could do an outstanding job for them."
Not so long ago in the frame for a move to McLaren, following the sea changes at Force India, was the highly touted Ocon, but a more likely destination was Renault, and when neither came to pass, Toto Wolff - without naming names - raged at the turn of events.
"What went on in July and August," he said in Singapore, "was just unbelievable - so much politics in the background, hidden agendas, lies. In July Esteban had two offers on the table with contracts, and it was just a matter of choosing which was the right one. He ended up not having either any more because people simply don't have the balls to stick to what they say."
In this day and age it is mighty unusual - dare one say refreshing - to see one of the gurus of the paddock step out of the PR cocoon, and speak his mind, but as I listened to what he had to say, I couldn't help but think, 'Live by the sword...' While a charming fellow, Toto himself, after all, is hardly renowned as a softie: in the manner of Jean Todt in his Ferrari days, his focus is squarely - rightly - on what is best for Mercedes, and in a pitiless commercial world it was surely unrealistic to expect anything else from fellow team principals.
Everything was precipitated by the change in ownership at Force India, which put Ocon on the street for 2019, and then by Ricciardo's decision to part ways with Red Bull: as Cyril Abiteboul put it, "If Daniel was available, how could we not sign him?" The logic was unarguable, and I somewhat doubt that anyone in Abiteboul's position, presented with the unexpected opportunity of a dream signing, would have behaved differently. 'After you, Claude' appertains no more in the paddock than on the race track.
It is a relatively recent phenomenon in Formula 1 that many a young driver is 'owned' by this team or that, and this has repercussions both good and bad. Whatever decisions might have been reached by either Renault or McLaren, Ocon's dilemma was initially spawned by the fact that his safe seat at Force India was wiped away by the change in the team's ownership.
There were suggestions Ocon might be moved aside, but Stroll was savvy enough to see it might not be smart to change teams mid-season and be blitzed in an unfamiliar car by the underrated, if erratic, Perez
I think back now to 10 years ago, to the first grand prix in Valencia, to chatting with Bernie Ecclestone in the paddock, looking across the harbour at Vijay Mallya's imposing yacht. "What d'you think?" said Bernie. "Has he got any money? I don't know..."
Mallya's subsequent financial tribulations have been well documented, and given the constraints under which it has necessarily operated, his team's achievements have been little short of phenomenal. Sooner or later, though, a point of no return was going to materialise, and in the summer legal action taken by Sergio Perez created circumstances in which the team could be saved - by a consortium headed by Lawrence Stroll.
While doubtless considering it a good business opportunity in itself, the Canadian billionaire's move was motivated also by a wish to buy his son Lance into a better car than that currently on offer from Williams. Given the team's reluctance to lose Perez with his Mexican sponsorship, it was always going to be Ocon who would make way for Stroll.
Initially indeed there were suggestions that Esteban might be moved aside forthwith, but Lance was savvy enough to see it might not be the smartest thing to change teams at mid-season, to be almost inevitably blitzed in an unfamiliar car by the underrated, if erratic, Perez. Instead he will step aboard a Force India - or wherever it is called by then - in Melbourne next March, when the likelihood is that the abundantly talented Ocon will be kicking his heels.
(A brief digression, if you will. How on earth the drivethrough penalty incurred by Perez in Singapore, when he lost his rag and plainly drove into Sergey Sirotkin, was no more severe than that later handed out to Sirotkin himself for squeezing Brendon Hartley I remain at a loss to understand. This was one of Sergio's flaky days: already, on the opening lap, he had omitted to steer quite enough to avoid putting his own team-mate in the wall. Not surprisingly, a livid Otmar Szafnauer afterwards declared a resumption of the 'no racing' rule imposed on his drivers after comings-together in 2017).
"I find this 'ownership' of drivers difficult to fathom sometimes," said Brundle. Him and me both. "Until the deal came up with Ricciardo, Ocon was all set for Renault - but actually, given that he's a 'Mercedes man', I could never quite understand why they would place him at Renault - and even more difficult to comprehend was why Renault would take him: why train up someone else's driver, and give him all your knowledge? I couldn't get my head round that at all."
Nor I, but it is all part of Formula 1's changing landscape, in which too much power resides with too few people, and young drivers are passed around like a tray of cakes. Wolff insists that sooner or later his boy Ocon will be a Mercedes driver, which doubtless sent a shiver down the back of Bottas: might it be that, in light of recently underwhelming performances by Valtteri, Toto now regrets confirming him for 2019 as early as he did, and wishes instead he could pair his potential superstar with Hamilton, as Ferrari have done with Vettel and Leclerc?
One suspects that Lewis, currently in the most imperious form of his life, would fret about that rather less than Sebastian.