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.
Instead, it has become clear that Ocon was more a victim of bad timing and a mistaken belief that a handshake on a deal to join Renault meant that everything was done and dusted. Ocon's situation developed in the early summer as Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, who looks after his career, focused on sorting the 2019 driver line-up for his works team.
Since it was a no-brainer that Lewis Hamilton would stay on board, the key decision to make was whether or not Valtteri Bottas made enough progress in 2018. Had Bottas not improved, then the most obvious candidate to replace him was Ocon, who has impressed since stepping up to F1 with Force India.
But Bottas's impressive form at the start of this year meant there was every reason to keep him. Giving that decision further impetus was the fact that McLaren and Renault were showing interest in Ocon. It appeared to be a win-win situation for Bottas, Ocon and Mercedes.
Recounting the situation exclusively to Autosport, Wolff says: "The story is simple. We felt that he [Ocon] was a kid that deserved a seat and we were balancing out Valtteri against Esteban.
"Valtteri did a very good job, and is still doing a very good job - Baku he should have won the race without the puncture - and it was how things fell into place that there was a lot of interest for Esteban from other teams. And we ended up with two teams offering contracts. Eventually Esteban made a choice brainstorming with us."
It has been widely reported that before the German Grand Prix, Ocon visited McLaren's Woking factory for a seat-fitting. The team wanted to be sure he could fit in its chassis, and there were even suggestions that a mid-season swap could take place if the team felt that things were not improving with Stoffel Vandoorne.
"If among serious teams you agree on things, you like to trust that these things will stick"Toto Wolff on Ocon's Renault deal falling through
But as the McLaren situation developed, Renault's interest in Ocon increased. Renault viewed Ocon as a perfect fit for its ambitious project, and it urged Mercedes not to pursue the McLaren option.
Mercedes was transparent with Renault about how close it was to a McLaren deal, making it clear that it did not want to risk losing that just for the chance of something at Enstone. The message that came back was clear: 'Ignore them, we will do a deal'.
Talks duly progressed and an outline agreement with Renault was reached, with contracts ready to be signed during F1's summer break. Ocon headed to his holidays thinking he had a Renault drive in the bag.
As Wolff reveals: "A ready contract and a handshake commitment was given to ensure that he would not go to the other team, and based on that handshake commitment the decision was taken. But eventually the 'agreement' that was made didn't happen."
When the bombshell Renault announcement landed that it had signed Daniel Ricciardo instead, Mercedes and Ocon were left not only in a difficult situation but deeply disappointed. The error was in believing that the handshake and intent prior to the summer break meant the deal was sealed.
"If among serious teams and corporations you agree on things, you like to trust that these things will stick," says Wolff.
Worse than losing out on the Renault drive was the fact that Ocon's previous option at McLaren had now been closed off. Having felt that it had been snubbed in favour of Renault, McLaren instead pursued a deal with Carlos Sainz Jr.
Wolff said there was little surprise in McLaren looking elsewhere once Ocon had looked set for Renault.
"When they were faced with the situation that Esteban wasn't available, they needed to make sure that they had an experienced driver in the car and this is when they went for Carlos, also somebody that merits to be in a car," he said. "And it was pretty clear that they wouldn't let Lando [Norris] go, so it was clear that Lando would be in the second car."
One of the issues that came to the forefront during this period was a reported reluctance by other teams to take Ocon because of his close ties to Mercedes. Red Bull boss Christian Horner was explicit that Ocon would not be considered a candidate for one of the vacant seats at Toro Rosso because of the Mercedes links.
"Being on a recall mechanism isn't attractive to a vast majority of teams," said Horner. "The crazy situation is you've got a driver like Ocon who might end up without a seat next year. If he was to be contractually free he'd be an obvious candidate for Toro Rosso. But Red Bull aren't going to invest in a Mercedes driver, understandably. And I wouldn't expect the same to happen the other way round."
Wolff is not so convinced that the Mercedes factor was ultimately that important, though, because both McLaren and Renault had been more than happy to show interest. Asked where the resistance to take Ocon came from after the summer break, Wolff says: "I am not sure, because there wasn't a resistance in July. There was interest in July but then everybody took their decisions.
"To be absolutely clear here, I understand that Renault taking Ricciardo is a great decision for them. I don't have a problem with that decision per se because Ricciardo is also somebody that deserves to be in a seat and probably Renault is a happy place for him.
Although Ocon's situation is 'terrible', as Nico Rosberg labelled it, it's hard to argue young drivers are being overlooked when Leclerc has been promoted to Ferrari and Gasly has a plum Red Bull seat
"But it is not Mercedes losing out here. We are running a team in the F1 championship and we are fighting for wins and championships. Esteban is a young driver who has lost out. I don't think it was particularly against Mercedes, because back then there were a lot of offers."
Asked then why people were so public in their declared resistance to the Mercedes junior team links, Wolff said: "It is clear that people will jump on that bandwagon.
"But what people don't get here, is that this is not about Mercedes. This is about Esteban. A guy who comes from a very, very hard environment, who won in GP3, who won in F3, and it is his career."
Although Ocon's 'terrible' situation, as Nico Rosberg labelled it earlier this week, has prompted talks of a young driver crisis in F1, Wolff does not share the view of a wider problem for the championship. It is hard to argue that young drivers are being overlooked when Charles Leclerc has been promoted to Ferrari and Pierre Gasly has been given a plum Red Bull seat.
"I think Esteban has only been the victim of unfortunate circumstances," added Wolff. "Esteban would have had a seat and would have deserved a seat like many of the people who got one. Gasly deserves a seat. [Max] Verstappen deserves a seat. Leclerc deserves a seat. Lance [Stroll] deserves a seat. Valtteri deserves a seat, and Kimi deserves a seat.
"So we are in a phase where there are many talented young men out there, and not an abundance of racing cockpits."
One thing has become clear to Wolff though: it is that in the future he will rely much less on other people when it comes to sorting out deals for his juniors.
"For me personally, and for Mercedes, we won't rely on anybody else when it comes to young drivers," he said. "The way we will continue with our young drivers is that we know we need to provide them with opportunities, or not do the programme at all."
And how has Wolff come out of the situation. Annoyed? Frustrated? Disappointed?
"It left me disappointed," he admitted. "But there is no point feeling sorry about it. We have to work and find solutions."
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.
Instead, it has become clear that Ocon was more a victim of bad timing and a mistaken belief that a handshake on a deal to join Renault meant that everything was done and dusted. Ocon's situation developed in the early summer as Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, who looks after his career, focused on sorting the 2019 driver line-up for his works team.
Since it was a no-brainer that Lewis Hamilton would stay on board, the key decision to make was whether or not Valtteri Bottas made enough progress in 2018. Had Bottas not improved, then the most obvious candidate to replace him was Ocon, who has impressed since stepping up to F1 with Force India.
But Bottas's impressive form at the start of this year meant there was every reason to keep him. Giving that decision further impetus was the fact that McLaren and Renault were showing interest in Ocon. It appeared to be a win-win situation for Bottas, Ocon and Mercedes.
Recounting the situation exclusively to Autosport, Wolff says: "The story is simple. We felt that he [Ocon] was a kid that deserved a seat and we were balancing out Valtteri against Esteban.
"Valtteri did a very good job, and is still doing a very good job - Baku he should have won the race without the puncture - and it was how things fell into place that there was a lot of interest for Esteban from other teams. And we ended up with two teams offering contracts. Eventually Esteban made a choice brainstorming with us."
It has been widely reported that before the German Grand Prix, Ocon visited McLaren's Woking factory for a seat-fitting. The team wanted to be sure he could fit in its chassis, and there were even suggestions that a mid-season swap could take place if the team felt that things were not improving with Stoffel Vandoorne.
"If among serious teams you agree on things, you like to trust that these things will stick"Toto Wolff on Ocon's Renault deal falling through
But as the McLaren situation developed, Renault's interest in Ocon increased. Renault viewed Ocon as a perfect fit for its ambitious project, and it urged Mercedes not to pursue the McLaren option.
Mercedes was transparent with Renault about how close it was to a McLaren deal, making it clear that it did not want to risk losing that just for the chance of something at Enstone. The message that came back was clear: 'Ignore them, we will do a deal'.
Talks duly progressed and an outline agreement with Renault was reached, with contracts ready to be signed during F1's summer break. Ocon headed to his holidays thinking he had a Renault drive in the bag.
As Wolff reveals: "A ready contract and a handshake commitment was given to ensure that he would not go to the other team, and based on that handshake commitment the decision was taken. But eventually the 'agreement' that was made didn't happen."
When the bombshell Renault announcement landed that it had signed Daniel Ricciardo instead, Mercedes and Ocon were left not only in a difficult situation but deeply disappointed. The error was in believing that the handshake and intent prior to the summer break meant the deal was sealed.
"If among serious teams and corporations you agree on things, you like to trust that these things will stick," says Wolff.
Worse than losing out on the Renault drive was the fact that Ocon's previous option at McLaren had now been closed off. Having felt that it had been snubbed in favour of Renault, McLaren instead pursued a deal with Carlos Sainz Jr.
Wolff said there was little surprise in McLaren looking elsewhere once Ocon had looked set for Renault.
"When they were faced with the situation that Esteban wasn't available, they needed to make sure that they had an experienced driver in the car and this is when they went for Carlos, also somebody that merits to be in a car," he said. "And it was pretty clear that they wouldn't let Lando [Norris] go, so it was clear that Lando would be in the second car."
One of the issues that came to the forefront during this period was a reported reluctance by other teams to take Ocon because of his close ties to Mercedes. Red Bull boss Christian Horner was explicit that Ocon would not be considered a candidate for one of the vacant seats at Toro Rosso because of the Mercedes links.
"Being on a recall mechanism isn't attractive to a vast majority of teams," said Horner. "The crazy situation is you've got a driver like Ocon who might end up without a seat next year. If he was to be contractually free he'd be an obvious candidate for Toro Rosso. But Red Bull aren't going to invest in a Mercedes driver, understandably. And I wouldn't expect the same to happen the other way round."
Wolff is not so convinced that the Mercedes factor was ultimately that important, though, because both McLaren and Renault had been more than happy to show interest. Asked where the resistance to take Ocon came from after the summer break, Wolff says: "I am not sure, because there wasn't a resistance in July. There was interest in July but then everybody took their decisions.
"To be absolutely clear here, I understand that Renault taking Ricciardo is a great decision for them. I don't have a problem with that decision per se because Ricciardo is also somebody that deserves to be in a seat and probably Renault is a happy place for him.
Although Ocon's situation is 'terrible', as Nico Rosberg labelled it, it's hard to argue young drivers are being overlooked when Leclerc has been promoted to Ferrari and Gasly has a plum Red Bull seat
"But it is not Mercedes losing out here. We are running a team in the F1 championship and we are fighting for wins and championships. Esteban is a young driver who has lost out. I don't think it was particularly against Mercedes, because back then there were a lot of offers."
Asked then why people were so public in their declared resistance to the Mercedes junior team links, Wolff said: "It is clear that people will jump on that bandwagon.
"But what people don't get here, is that this is not about Mercedes. This is about Esteban. A guy who comes from a very, very hard environment, who won in GP3, who won in F3, and it is his career."
Although Ocon's 'terrible' situation, as Nico Rosberg labelled it earlier this week, has prompted talks of a young driver crisis in F1, Wolff does not share the view of a wider problem for the championship. It is hard to argue that young drivers are being overlooked when Charles Leclerc has been promoted to Ferrari and Pierre Gasly has been given a plum Red Bull seat.
"I think Esteban has only been the victim of unfortunate circumstances," added Wolff. "Esteban would have had a seat and would have deserved a seat like many of the people who got one. Gasly deserves a seat. [Max] Verstappen deserves a seat. Leclerc deserves a seat. Lance [Stroll] deserves a seat. Valtteri deserves a seat, and Kimi deserves a seat.
"So we are in a phase where there are many talented young men out there, and not an abundance of racing cockpits."
One thing has become clear to Wolff though: it is that in the future he will rely much less on other people when it comes to sorting out deals for his juniors.
"For me personally, and for Mercedes, we won't rely on anybody else when it comes to young drivers," he said. "The way we will continue with our young drivers is that we know we need to provide them with opportunities, or not do the programme at all."
And how has Wolff come out of the situation. Annoyed? Frustrated? Disappointed?
"It left me disappointed," he admitted. "But there is no point feeling sorry about it. We have to work and find solutions."
