Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff has confirmed the team sent an order to Force India and Esteban Ocon to let Lewis Hamilton through during the Monaco GP.

The Frenchman, who is part of the company's young driver program, was running in sixth having held on to his grid position at the start of Sunday's race in Monte Carlo.

But when the world champion was the first of the leaders to pit for fresh tyres, he would fall behind the leading midfield runner and it was then the German manufacturer used their power over both a customer team and their junior driver.

Aware Hamilton could well lose time on his fresh tyres just as they tried to perform the undercut on Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel in front, Mercedes requested Ocon move aside for the Briton, and he would comply allowing him through at the chicane.

The ease with which he got ahead raised suspicion that some kind of call had been sent and the 21-year-old didn't do much to quell those claims afterwards.

"I'm a Mercedes driver, you should ask the boss," he told Sky Italy. "It was pointless to fight with him, especially as he had new tyres."

Ocon would then say "maybe" when asked if there was an arrangement in place that Force India does help Mercedes should they cross paths.

Any lingering doubt was dispelled though when Wolff was directly asked if an order had been sent by a Belgian reporter.

"Yes, because that's the way it is," said the Austrian.

The impact it had on Ocon's race would be minimal too as he went to solidify sixth place on an impressive weekend.

"A fantastic result today. I’m really happy and it was great fun," he declared.

"The pace we had was impressive and the team did a fantastic job with the strategy.

"We had a great understanding of the tyres and there were times during the race when we were the fastest car on track."

Indeed, his speed was such that he actually closed a 20-second gap back to Valtteri Bottas in fifth as the top five struggled with tyre graining and the engine problem for winner Daniel Ricciardo.

"It feels great to get this result and a good bunch of points after a few disappointing races. I hope we can have many more weekends like this one," Ocon added.