Wehrlein hoping for a top drive "soon"

Pascal Wehrlein is hoping that he will be able to move into one of the top teams in the next number of years and compete for world championships. The German made his debut last season with Manor and finished in the points once in Austria, bringing the team's second ever top ten finish.

Linked with a Mercedes drive after Nico Rosberg retired at the end of last season, Wehrelin lost out to Valtteri Bottas but is hoping that his opportunity will come along soon. This year, the 2015 DTM champion is racing for Sauber and has finished in the top ten on two occasions.

"Hopefully soon," he said when asked when he would be rewarded with a competitive drive. "My target is to one day be in a team where I can win races, get on the podium regularly and fight for championships. Right now I don’t have these tools to make it happen.

"The weekends where we score points are very, very special for us because we don’t have the car to finish in the top ten often – only if the stars are in the right place! (Laughs) And then we have to take the opportunity and bag the points. I am very happy that when the chance was there I was able to grab it. I want to be there when it counts."

Fred Vasseur was recently announced as the new team principal of Sauber after Monisha Kaltenborn left her post before the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Wehrlein says that he is looking forward to working with the Frenchman, having previously done so in DTM.

"Yes, I do have expectations of Fred – and the team," he said. "I don’t know how fast Fred can change things or how he can change them, but we now have one race left before the summer shut-down. In the second half of the season the team will focus on next year, so I don't think you will see his touch too much this year.

"So let's see what we can still do with the tools that we have right now. I really respect Fred. I used to work with him in DTM. He had a team when I drove there in 2015. He has so much experience in motorsport and in many other ventures outside racing. He is a very successful man. He could help Sauber. He could be very good for the team."

Fergal Walsh