Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsMercedes

'The car is in better shape than I am' - Wehrlein

Pascal Wehrlein says he is still struggling with illness despite setting the fastest time on the final morning of testing in Barcelona.

The young Mercedes driver was forced to skip a planned day of testing with Force India yesterday in order to ensure he was fit enough to drive for Mercedes on Wednesday. Following a productive morning in the car which saw him complete 73 laps and set the quickest time, Wehrlein says he is still far from 100%.

“I’m feeling better, but still not perfect," Wehrlein said. “Monday I was really, really bad. Our team doctor said it was better to rest yesterday, and to be fit for today. I was ill, fever, with pain in my fingers and muscles. I was quite bad, I was in bed and feeling really disappointed.

“The doctor visited me constantly in the hotel, checking on my progress, making sure my recovery was okay. He allowed me to drive today, but still I’m not perfect. I’m taking some medicine, which makes me a little better.

“The car is in better shape than I am, it definitely feels good, we are doing some programmes, long runs, set-up work, just a normal test day.”

And Wehrlein admits it was a major blow for him to have to pull out of his scheduled running with Force India on Tuesday.

“I’m very disappointed because there are not many options to drive a Formula One car during the season, so to miss one day – especially for me – is really bad because I need the experience and time in the car.”

For live coverage of the second day of testing, click here

Click here for Wednesday's gallery from testing at the Circuit de Catalunya

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.