Wehrlein 'absolutely in contention' at Williams - Lowe

©WRI2

Williams' Paddy Lowe insists Pascal Wehrlein is very much in the running for a 2018 seat with the Grove-based outfit, regardless of sponsor Martini's preference for an older driver.

The 23-year-old Mercedes protégé is in line for a drive along with Felipe Massa, Robert Kubica and Paul di Resta.

Williams recently tested both Kubica and di Resta in a 2014-spec car for evaluation purposes, an exercise Wehrlein has no need undertake.

"Somebody like Pascal, I don’t need to put him in a car, because he’s in a car every week," Lowe explained.

"What’s most important for the team is to pick a driver line-up that gives us the best performance and the most exciting racing potential for 2018.

Massa: Williams 'would be much worse off without me' in 2018

"There are some issues around advertising and Martini, but if it came to it I’m sure Martini will understand the importance, if that’s what we were to choose, to have the best line-up for racing rather than for advertising.

"We’ll cross that bridge if we need to. Age is not a factor in our primary objective, which is to pick the best line-up."

Lowe thus denies Williams' choice for who partners Lance Stroll in 2018 is a binary one, and limited to either Kubica or di Resta.

"Our consideration of drivers remains completely open, including Felipe [Massa], who is definitely very high in our consideration, among a range of drivers which is wider than any we’ve tested in cars as well, said Lowe.

"It’s obvious with Robert that he’s on a journey to determine whether he can drive a car to the level that he drove in the past.

"And we’re exploring that with him, and seeing where that takes us. In his case that’s why we did two tests with him, actually.

"And with Paul, he’s been our reserve driver for a number of years, and we actually haven’t given him very much mileage.

"It was an evaluation, that’s why we don’t use other words [such as shootout], because clearly that’s not a current F1 car."

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.