Posted on 2nd January 2017
This morning, news has surfaced that the Sauber team has reached an agreement with Mercedes to hire Pascal Wehrlein to race alongside Marcus Ericsson for 2017, a move which all but confirms Valtteri Bottas’ move to the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team (even though he was spotted at the factory last week).
Wehrlein was initially viewed as a favourite for replacing world champion Nico Rosberg at Mercedes but the Mercedes management team put the doubt in everyone’s mind as it speculated on hiring a more experienced driver to pair with Lewis Hamilton.
According to sources within the paddock today, Mercedes has now agreed terms to place its protégé with the Hinwill-based outfit for the 2017 season, with a contract expected to be signed in the coming days.
Indeed, with Mercedes calling the shots with regard to several teams, a formal announcement could be made this week in conjunction with Bottas’ move to Brackley as well as Felipe Massa’s subsequent extended stay at Williams.
With the Manor Racing team now becoming the only team on the 2017 F1 grid with available race seat, there are still a number of drivers in the running for the seat including ex Haas F1 driver Esteban Gutierrez, ex Sauber driver Felipe Nasr and ex Manor driver battling for the chance to race for the team in 2017.
Sarah Jones- @jonesy_laaa
