Bottas hopeful of return

Fernando Alonso is not the only driving waiting to be passed fit to race in Malaysia.

Williams driver Valtteri Bottas is also hopeful of returning this weekend after the Finnish driver was forced to withdraw from the Australian Grand Prix after injuring his back during qualifying.

Bottas suffered a tear in the annular part of a disc in his lower back, worryingly it apparently wasn’t due to any particular incident like hitting a high curb or a bump and instead it ‘just happened’ whilst he was out on track.

He subsequently failed the FIA’s extraction test and he wasn’t cleared to race.

On Thursday he will undergo further FIA tests to see if he will be passed fit to race this weekend.

‘Valtteri is in very good shape, He is working very hard. Bottas’s manager Didier Coton told the BBC.

‘I spoke with him today and he is in top shape. He will have to take the FIA medical, which I expect him to pass.

‘I don’t see any reason why he wouldn’t pass it – he tells me he is back to normal. I’m very confident about it, but of course I am not a doctor.’

If Bottas was not cleared to race it is not clear who Williams would select to race alongside Felipe Massa.

British driver Susie Wolff is the teams reserve driver, but she holds limited Formula One experience after driving in a couple of practice sessions last season.