Formula One - F1 - Belgian Grand Prix - Stavelot, Belgium - August 24, 2017 Sauber's Pascal Wehrlein ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix REUTERS/Francois Lenoir

LONDON (Reuters) - Former German Touring Car (DTM) champion Pascal Wehrlein will return to the series one more time with Mercedes this year after losing his Formula One seat at Sauber to Monegasque rookie Charles Leclerc.

Mercedes named the 23-year-old German in their season line-up on Wednesday.

The year will be a farewell for the German manufacturer before switching attention to the all-electric Formula E championship.

Wehrlein spent three years in DTM and won the title in 2015, becoming the youngest champion, before entering Formula One with now-defunct Manor Racing in 2016 and then switching to Swiss-based Sauber for 2017.

Despite scoring all of Sauber’s five points last year, the Mercedes-backed driver was not retained by a team now sponsored by Fiat Chrysler brand Alfa Romeo and with close links to Ferrari.

Leclerc, last year’s dominant Formula Two champion, is also a Ferrari academy driver.