A gnarly Polaris Slingshot flip during Saturday’s Race of Champions left Formula One driver Pascal Wehrlein with enough “mild discomfort” that doctors advised him to sit out today’s Nations Cup rounds.
Wehrlein ran wide into competitor Felipe Massa’s lane during the race and collided with Massa’s Slingshot, sending him and his passenger over in a big flip. Neither he nor his passenger were severely injured.
Wehrlein has been advised by doctors to drop out of today’s Nations Cup races as a precaution, according to a statement issued by the Race of Champions on the incident this morning. Wehrlein explained to the ROC:
I’d really like to race again and I feel fine, but the doctors have advised me to rest so of course I will take their advice. It’s no more than mild discomfort but my real priority for the coming year is my Formula 1 season.
Wehrlein was partnered with fellow German Sebastian Vettel for the ROC’s Nations Cup. Vettel will now race in the Nations Cup by himself.
Wehrlein became the youngest Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters champion ever in 2015, and is switching to the Sauber Formula One team this year from his previous seat with now-broke Manor Racing.
Saturday’s winner, for the 2017 Champion of Champions, was IndyCar driver and first-time ROC participant Juan Pablo Montoya, who beat “Mr. Le Mans” Tom Kristensen in the final rounds to take the title.