Sauber’s Pascal Wehrlein says he feels “comfortable” after he returned to Formula 1 action during practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix on Friday.
Wehrlein sustained a back injury in an accident at the Race of Champions and withdrew from the season-opening event in Australia after practice, citing a lack of fitness, caused by the change to his training regime.
Wehrlein also sat out the Chinese Grand Prix as he regained his fitness levels, but returned to the cockpit of the C36-Ferrari at Sakhir on Friday.
The Mercedes protégé finished the second practice session in 19th position, within two-tenths of a second of team-mate Marcus Ericsson, as he got back up to speed.
“First of all, I am happy to be back in the car,” Wehrlein said after his absence.
“Speaking about the lap times, they are not really significant at this stage. Today’s focus was on getting used to the car and collecting mileage in order to make up for lost time.
“I am feeling comfortable in the car and also the procedures with the team work well.
“We did make a step forward from the first to the second free practice session, so I am already looking forward to tomorrow.”
