Official: Pascal Wehrlein joins Sauber for 2017

When Nico Rosberg announced his retirement, many observers turned to Pascal Wehrlein, the only Mercedes protégé who was not yet signed with a team.

But ultimately, Mercedes made the choice not to promote the young German so early in his career in just his second F1 season and is logically expected to confirm Valtteri Bottas in the coming days.

With Manor going into administration, Mercedes had to secure the future of its protégé. It was also not possible to position him as Valtteri Bottas’s replacement since the Grove team did not want to field two inexperienced drivers during a season with so many regulatory changes.

Sauber was then the only remaining opportunity, with all other seats already filled. This is what the Swiss team just confirmed. Monisha Kaltenborn, the team’s director, stated: “We are very pleased to announce Pascal Wehrlein as the second driver for the team for the 2017 Formula One World Championship. Pascal has demonstrated his talent throughout his career – in single-seaters as well as in DTM. Last year, in his very first season, he proved his potential by scoring a point at the Austrian Grand Prix in Spielberg. Pascal is just at the beginning of his ascent, and we want to give him the opportunity to continue on this trajectory and learn more in this premier discipline of motorsport.”

This means that if Manor fails to save itself in the coming weeks, it is Felipe Nasr who will find himself without a seat for the next season. The young Brazilian has had a very difficult year, apart from the two points he was able to bring back from the Brazilian Grand Prix. Additionally, he has lost the support of Banco do Brasil, which is undergoing restructuring due to the country’s economic difficulties.

With the participation of www.racingbusiness.fr