Pascal Wehrlein is not yet out of the running for a F1 seat in 2018.
That is the view of Toto Wolff, who oversees the career of the Mercedes-backed German driver.
Currently, Wehrlein is at Sauber, but the Swiss team looks set to take on a Ferrari junior like Antonio Giovinazzi or Charles Leclerc next year.
"In my opinion, a lot still depends on Pascal," said Wolff at Spa. "He can still do some good results at Sauber.
"Perhaps the door to this team will be closed to him next year because of their close relationship with Ferrari," he admitted, "but at the same time there is at least one more possible option."
That ’possible option’ could be Force India, who already run a Mercedes-backed driver in the form of Esteban Ocon.