Williams are hopeful that Valtteri Bottas will return to his race seat for the Malaysian Grand Prix after he was forced to sit out the opening race of the season in Melbourne.
The Finnish driver had complained of back pain during qualifying. Then a handful of laps later he ran a little wide at the penultimate corner and hit a large bump, further injuring his back.
The FIA ruled him out of competing in Sunday’s race, but the team are hoping he will be declared fit for the Malaysian GP weekend next week.
“We are fully supportive of Valtteri and his determination to return to the cockpit in Malaysia,” the Grove team told Autosport.
“He is receiving the best possible care and is doing everything he can to be fully fit again.
“As he was deemed unfit to race by the FIA in Australia he will need to receive final approval by the FIA medical team in Malaysia on Thursday.”
Bottas has flown to Indonesia as originally planned to acclimatise to the temperature and humidity. He is also receiving the best possible care from his physio.
“He has a leading physiotherapist with him who is working with Valtteri and his trainer to make sure he gets the best treatment possible.”
