'Relieved' Wehrlein set for Bahrain return

Apr.11 - Pascal Wehrlein will make his return to the Sauber cockpit this weekend in Bahrain.

That is the claim of the Munich newspaper TZ, even though it was thought possible Ferrari reserve Antonio Giovinazzi will stay in the car for now despite his Shanghai crashes.

German Wehrlein has reportedly been training hard to recover his flagging fitness following a winter back injury.

"My back was extremely compressed in the crash and there were three small hairline fractures in the area of the thoracic vertebrae," the 22-year-old told TZ.

"A normal person could have resumed his job after a few days, but this is not the case with a professional athlete," added Wehrlein.

So when asked how relieved he is to be back in action in Bahrain this weekend, he answered: "Very.

"After some special training in Salzburg, I feel ready now."

So despite the waves of recent speculation, it appears that Wehrlein's F1 and Sauber career is now back on track -- perhaps not only for 2017 but also beyond.

Wehrlein answered: "As long as I am under contract to Mercedes, they will decide about my future. But if it was up to me, I could imagine driving for longer with Sauber."

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