Pascal Wehrlein wants to know why he was overlooked for a seat at Force India, following the team's decision to sign his Manor teammate Esteban Ocon for 2017.
Wehrlein and Ocon have been partners since the latter replaced Rio Haryanto in Belgium, with many seeing the situation as a shootout for a seat further up the grid between the Mercedes drivers. Despite out-qualifying Ocon in five of their seven sessions together and continuing to perform well on race day, the French driver was confirmed as Sergio Perez's next teammate on Thursday.
The German, who has previously tested for Force India, admits he was disappointed to hear their final decision.
"I don't know if it was the test and if it was decided by something else," he said. "It is like that and I will ask why or what happened, or what can I improve from my side... otherwise with the performance on track I am quite happy. It is not the end of the world, it is a missed opportunity, but not the end of the world."
When asked if he felt the decision was fair, he replied: "I don't want to answer because it will just turn out bad for me. I will try to do my best in the last races as I always have. In the last six races we have been three times in Q2, so hopefully we can keep up with that."
Though Mercedes is understood to have pushed hard for Ocon to join Manor in the summer, and had even been considering a drive at Renault, Wehrlein says Force India had the final say on which of them got the drive.
"[Mercedes boss Toto Wolff] said that Force India chose Esteban and that is their decision."
Ocon's move means Wehrlein's options look limited next year. Of the three teams yet to confirm next year's drivers, Haas is expected to announce the signing of Kevin Magnussen in Brazil this weekend. That leaves Sauber, who are expected to retain Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr, and Wehrlein's current team Manor.
Wehrlein admits his future may be more certain if Manor can finish 10th, with the added prize money negating the need for a well-backed driver.
"I think it would be easier to stay because for sure there are drivers with a lot of money and if we stay in P10 we get a bit more money. But I don't know if the team will decide because of that or not or if this is an affect that is very important or not. I don't know."
"First of all I hope to stay in Formula One -- and where it is, is not my decision. So, I hope we can find a seat for next year and where it is. It is not my decision, but as I also said many weeks before, I would be happy to stay at Manor."