Toto Wolff "never lost trust" in Renault despite Esteban Ocon snub in 2018

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has insisted he always trusted Renault to eventually sign Esteban Ocon, despite the French team going against their agreeement and snubbing Ocon in 2018.

Everything was set for Ocon to join Renault after being released by Force India back at the end of the 2018 season, but when Daniel Ricciardo became available from Red Bull, the French works team decided it was too good of an opportunity to turn down.

However, fast-forward a year, and Renault have announced the addition of Ocon from Mercedes, with the driver replacing Nico Hulkenberg for the 2020 season and the Mercedes boss has claimed he never lost any trust in Renault managing director Cyril Abiteboul.

"No, we never lost the trust," Wolff said when asked by Motorsport.com. "There are so many common things that we discuss between Renault and Mercedes, where we discuss how the sport should go, and that as much as the situation on Esteban affected us and we let some words slip, this is part of the game.