Sauber believed that Pascal Wehrlein's back injury was so serious that he was likely to be sidelined for four races. As it turned out, he cut his predicted recovery time in half.
Wehrlein suffered a compression fracture of a neck vertebra while competing at the Race of Champions in January. He took part in practice in Melbourne but was forced to withdraw from the race.
Ferrari reserve driver Antonio Giovinazzi took over, and also replaced Wehrlein in China. The team expected Wehrlein to sit out the next two races as well. However the German driver returned to action in Bahrain, successfully completing the race in 11th place.
"The team thought that my first race would be Barcelona," Wehrlein told Autosport magazine this week. "I couldn't believe that I would skip four races, so I said: earlier than Barcelona."
Wehrlein explained that the motivation to prove that he was right had helped him push even harder, accelerating his recovery.
The 22-year-old credited experienced driver physiotherapist Josef Leberer for overseeing his quicker than expected return to the race seat.
"He helped me everywhere he could with all his experience," Wehrlein acknowledged. "I think without all the support I was getting I probably wouldn't be back now still."
After a somewhat disappointing outing in Sochi, Wehrlein celebrated his first finish in the points for Sauber with eighth place in Spain. It was his best result to date in Formula 1.
Wehrlein said that this showed that his delayed start to the season hadn't done any lasting harm to his campaign.
"Of course I did fewer races, less time in the car than everyone else but that's just the past now," he said.
"I'm focusing every race on the maximum I can do, the maximum performance. I'm feeling quite happy in the car and the team."
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