Mercedes reserve driver and current DTM champion Pascal Wehrlein has confirmed he will be on the Formula 1 grid in March after securing one of the two Manor seats currently up for grabs.
Whilst no official announcement has been made by the team, it's expected a statement confirming his appointment will be released later on Wednesday.
German publication Auto Bild quotes Wehrlein as saying: "Toto Wolff led all the talks [with Manor] for me.
"He helped me a lot [with negotiations], for which I'm very, very grateful. Since I visited my first Grand Prix at the age of six, I wanted to be a Formula 1 driver. Now this dream has come true."
The 21-year-old has had outings with both Mercedes and Force India last year and the German outfit are keen to expand his experience with a year at Manor before assessing his ability, with many believing he will replace one of the Mercedes drivers in the future.
The identity of Manor's second driver isn't as clear, with Alexander Rossi recently saying things were looking "positive" for him. Meanwhile Rio Haryanto, Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi and also in with a chance.
