Mercedes has confirmed that it will continue to support Pascal Wehrlein and employ the young German driver as its 'test driver' for 2018.
The 23-year-old made his F1 debut in 2016 with minnow outfit Manor before moving to Sauber last season.
The Swiss outfit's limited resources put a lid on Wehrlein's ability to perform but he still brought the team its only championship points in 2017.
Unfortunately, Sauber decided to part ways with the German and keep Marcus Ericsson while also taking on Ferrari junior Charles Leclerc.
"We have supported Pascal since 2013 and he earned his chance in Formula 1 after his DTM victory in 2015," Mercedes boss Toto Wolff told Sport Bild.
"After that, he experienced two not so easy years in formula one with Manor and Sauber.
"But we will keep him in our racing family in 2018 and also offer him a role as F1 test driver at Mercedes, to keep his door open to formula one for 2019," Wolff added.
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