4 drivers who have the potential to be the next breakout F1 champion

3. Esteban Ocon

Esteban Ocon

A stat that Ocon has in his favor over Verstappen and Leclerc is that while rising through the ranks, he has beaten both of them. And one stat that both Leclerc and Verstappen have in their favor is that they will be driving a championship-contending car while Ocon will most likely take up the role of reserve driver at Mercedes.

After impressing everyone on the grid with his driving, it's a travesty that Ocon hasn't landed a starting seat for next year's season and even more shockingly hasn't got the expected promotion to Mercedes despite Valtteri Bottas' average season.

Toto Wolff has been put under a lot of stress in recent times by the media for not being able to provide a race seat to Ocon for the next season. With the way that Bottas has been driving recently, Mercedes would do well to replace him with Ocon if his performances don't improve.