In preparation for the upcoming Formula 1 2017 season, former Mercedes driver Pascal Wehrlein has made his entry at Sauber.
His departure from the Mercedes team has created an opening and the team has plans to fill that void.
With the German leaving Mercedes, the door has been left open for fellow driver Valterri Bottas to swoop in and fill Nico Rosberg’s empty seat at the world champions. His entry at Sauber will be a welcome development as he is set to replace the outgoing driver Felipe Nasir and will be partnering with Marcus Ericsson at the new team which uses drive trains supplied by Ferrari.
The departure of the 22-year old has given a huge pointer as to where the future of Bottas will lie as he has been rumored to be Mercedes’ reserve option.
According to claims by sky sports, Wehrlein has been considered by force India to be the befitting replacement for Nico Hulkenberg. With Bottas’ potential exit from Mercedes, his replacement is likely to be Felipe Massa as the deputy team principal of Mercedes Claire William is hopeful for an announcement regarding the issue by the end of the week.
“It has been dragging on and it think everyone wants to know, probably more who is going to be Lewis Hamilton’s team-mate next year and of course whenever Nico made his announcement we knew the call was probably going to come from Toto,” Williams had said.
In further statements she supported Valterri’s bold move stating that it will be a great step for his career.
She said: “It is a great opportunity for Valterri and he has given a lot to Williams. We’ve always said if we can make this happen on terms that are positive for Williams then it is probably the best thing to do.”