Pascal Wehrlein secured his first points finish of the 2017 Formula 1 season after making the most of his strategy to finish the Spanish Grand Prix in seventh position, although a time penalty relegated him to eighth.
The German was handed a five-second penalty for a pit entry offence but performed well to hold off the challenge of Carlos Sainz Jr until the chequered flag despite the Sauber F1 Team running the 2016 Ferrari power unit.
Wehrlein’s decision to pit only the once paid off as others made either two or three pit stops, and he was rewarded with his best result in Formula 1 to date, having secured a tenth place finish in last year’s Austrian Grand Prix whilst driving for the Manor Racing MRT team.
“It was a very good race for me today,” said Wehrlein. “I am really happy that the performance of the car was there, as well as the strategy with only one pit stop perfectly worked to the end of the race.
“We could not have expected such a result after the practice sessions. It feels very good to finish this race surprisingly in the points. I want to thank the whole team, as everyone has done a great job throughout the whole weekend.
“Now I hope that the further updates on the car will also move us forward in Monaco and that we can repeat such results.”
