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Team principal of Sauber F1 team Monisha Kaltenborn has called the criticism that has come Pascal Wehrlein's way as "not fair". The German missed the opening round in Australia two weeks ago and is sitting out the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend while he recovers from a back injury.
Wehrlein crashed at the race of Champions in January and missed out on a lot of training for the new generation of Formula 1 cars, which produce much more downforce than ever before, making them physically tougher to drive.
Wehrlein has himself made the decision to sit out both events with the best interests of himself and his team at heart, however, some have suggested he is simply not motivated to race.
"This is all not true," Kaltenborn insisted. "The fact is that he had his (race of champions) accident in America, and his spine was compressed quite hard. And of course, you don't take these things lightly."
"Actually it surprised us that Pascal got the green light to drive so quickly afterwards, but the truth is that it simply takes a while for the body to recover. He simply has to catch up on the training deficit as a result of the injury.
"It is not fair to question his motivation and I cannot understand how he is criticised for his decision. At the moment, he is completing an intensive training programme with the Mercedes junior team. After this weekend, we will get together and see where we stand."
Fellow drivers have jumped to the aid of Wehrlein and defended him such as Frenchman Romain Grosjean. He says that he would do the same thing if he was in Wehrlein's position.
"While everyone else was working extensively, Pascal could not train," he said. "If I got at the wheel of one of these cars in the form I was in last year, I would have had problems too. And if I can't drive the car properly, I don't want to take risks and endanger myself and others."
Fergal Walsh
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