Pascal Wehrlein admits to being disappointed by Force India's decision not to offer him a drive.

Having tested with Force India, many assumed that Pascal Wehrlein would be first in line should either Sergio Perez or Nico Hulkenberg opt to leave the Silverstone-based outfit.

However, even before Hulkenberg confirmed that he was moving to Renault it appeared that Force India was no longer considering the German but rather his Manor teammate Esteban Ocon, who today agreed a multi-year deal with the team.

Indeed, as other seats were claimed in the annual game of high octane musical chairs it appeared the 2015 DTM champion was not in the running and now his only hope seems to be to stay with Manor.

Speaking at Interlagos ahead of this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix, and with his 2017 seat yet to be confirmed, the German admitted that he was mystified as to why Force India didn't want him.

"I don't know if it was in the test they decided, or something else," he admitted.

"Of course I will ask why, what happened, what can I improve from my side," he added.

"Otherwise with the performance on track I'm quite happy. It's a missed opportunity, but not the end of the world.

"There are no other cockpits, but I'm happy to stay at Manor," he insisted, "making progress with the team and growing with the team.

"Having results like Austria is great," he added, referring to the race where his tenth place consolidated the team's tenth position in the team standings and guarantees it around £30m more in prize money than if it had finished eleventh.

"The team is doing a fantastic job, and we can do another step for next year," he said. "That's the target, but at the moment I don't have a contract."

"Asked if he felt Force India's decision to go for Ocon in preference to him was unfair, the youngster opted for the diplomatic route.

"I really don't want to answer this question because it will just turn out bad for me," he said. "I can't change it, all I can do is perform on track… which I feel I did."

Check out our Thursday gallery from Interlagos, here.