Valtteri Bottas facing late fitness test for Malaysia GP

Valtteri Bottas: Suffered back injury in Melbourne

Valtteri Bottas will have to pass a medical examination on Thursday before being permitted to drive in this week’s Malaysia GP, his Williams team have confirmed.

The Finn missed the season-opening Australian GP due to a back injury which was subsequently diagnosed as a tear in the annular part of a disc in his lower back.

Bottas has provided a steady stream of positives updates on his condition via his official Twitter account after resuming training and reported “every day is a step forward.” But while Bottas has flown to Malaysia, his participation in Sunday’s race at Sepang is still to be definitively confirmed.  

“We're fully supportive of Valtteri's determination to race in Malaysia, but he will need final approval from the FIA medics on Thursday,” Williams tweeted on Monday.

Bottas was ruled out of the race in Melbourne after failing the second of two extraction tests a driver must complete before being cleared to participate.

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March 27, 2015

"After such a frustrating Sunday in Australia, I have taken the necessary measures to make sure I arrive in Malaysia fit to race and ready to bring the results home," said Bottas.

"After Melbourne I have stayed in Asia to acclimatise to the hot conditions and adjust to the right time zone. I trained a lot over the winter to prepare for these physically difficult conditions."

It remains unclear who would replace Bottas if he is ruled out. Although both Susie Wolff and GP3 champion Alex Lynn are on the team’s books, Williams do not have an official reserve diver.

Williams started the season hoping to lead the pack chasing the dominant Mercedes team, but Ferrari out-performed them in Melbourne, with Sebastian Vettel finishing third ahead of Bottas' team-mate Felipe Massa.