Wehrlein sticking to ‘Plan A’ after Sauber exit

Pascal Wehrlein says he’s confident his performances for Sauber in 2017 will help his career prospects despite looking like missing out on a Formula 1 driver next season after being shuffled out of the Swiss squad.

With Sauber strengthening its ties to Ferrari’s parent company the FCA Group via a technical and title sponsorship deal with Alfa Romeo from next season, Mercedes-backed Wehrlein has left the team after one season. The German’s vacant race seat has been picked up by reigning Formula 2 champion Charles Leclerc.

Effectively one spot remains to be filled for the 2018 F1 grid which is at Williams alongside Lance Stroll but with the British team aiming to add experience to its driver line-up a comeback by Robert Kubica looks likely after impressing during the post-season Abu Dhabi test last week.

While Wehrlein remains on the Williams shortlist for next season, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has conceded his chances of joining the British team were ‘tiny’.

Speaking during the Abu Dhabi race weekend, Wehrlein was determined to stick to his ‘Plan A’ inside the Mercedes fold despite facing the prospect of returning to DTM where he clinched the drivers’ title in 2015.

“I'm happy with the last two years, with my performance this year and I'm sure it will help with my future,” Wehrlein said. “I’m still in discussions, in talks. There's clearly plan A and about the other plans we haven’t talked about yet.

“I'm always pro-active so I always like to be involved in everything and know about everything, the talks, discussions and everything. I like to be involved so I'm not sitting back and saying they will do it for me and I don't have to worry.”

Wehrlein scored Sauber’s only points in 2017 with two top ten finishes coming in Spain and Azerbaijan but his efforts weren’t enough to prevent the Swiss squad ending the year bottom of the F1 World Constructors’ championship for the first time in its history.