Sauber will reportedly make the call about their 2018 driver lineup soon.
Earlier, it looked certain that Pascal Wehrlein would lose his seat as team engine supplier Ferrari bring in one of their juniors Charles Leclerc or Antonio Giovinazzi.
Indeed, Sauber have now announced that young Monegasque Leclerc will get four Friday practice session outings at forthcoming grands prix.
Yet he will actually be in the seat of team regular Marcus Ericsson, whose place for 2018 earlier looked safe due to his strong links to the new Sauber owners.
However, it is believed that Sauber could in fact accommodate both Leclerc and Giovinazzi next year, or keep Wehrlein at the team as the ideal teammate for Leclerc next year.
Wehrlein said that he is letting Mercedes do his negotiating for him.
"I am their junior driver," he told Auto Motor und Sport. "I don't feel I would be better off with a personal advisor."
The German magazine tipped Sauber to make their decision "by the end of September, beginning of October".
