Pascal Wehrlein

Pascal Wehrlein is a racing driver from Germany whose greatest success so far is the championship title in the 2015 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, while he was driving for Mercedes.

After that, he made a move to Formula 1 World Championship in 2016, spending two F1 seasons with Manor and Sauber. In 2018, Wehrlein returned to DTM.

Karting career

Pascal Wehrlein was born in October 1994 in Sigmaringen. His first racing experience was in karting when he was 9 years old.

Pascal competed in Germany and progressed through the junior ranks with a lot of success, winning many regional championships and national titles. In 2009, his last year in karting, Wehrlein finished 5th in ADAC Kart Masters KF2 class and was ready for the next step in his career.

Pascal Wehrlein debuted in karting when he was 9

2011 ADAC Formula Masters champion

In 2010, Wehrlein debuted in the ADAC Formula Masters series. His rookie season was pretty good as he scored one win and a total of four podiums which was enough for the 6th place in the final classification.

Pascal Wehrlein won ADAC Formula Masters title in 2011

The following year in the series was much better. Driving for ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg team, Wehrlein won the title after he has scored seven wins. His talent was noticed by many and Pascal signed a contract with Mucke Motorsport to compete in Formula 3 from 2012.

Pascal was Formula 3 Euro Series runner-up in 2012

Competing in Formula 3 Euro Series, Wehrlein finished the season as a vice-champion. He won only 1 out of 24 races but had other 10 podium finishes. With 226 points on his account, Pascal finished 14 points behind Daniel Juncadella, but many well-known names, like Felix Rosenqvist, Tom Blomqvist, Sven Muller and Carlos Sainz Jr, were behind him.

Wehrlein, Mücke Motorsport, Dallara F312, AMG Mercedes

The following year, Wehrlein drove only a first round of the FIA European Formula 3 Championship at Monza and managed to win one race before leaving the series.

DTM debut

Pascal became the youngest driver in the popular DTM Series. Still a teenager, he got an opportunity to drive one of Mucke Motorsport’s Mercedes’. Despite finishing last in the season, with only 3 points, Wehrlein showed that he can be very fast and that he will be a serious title challenger when he gains some experience.

Wehrlein, Mercedes DTM, 2014

In 2014, Wehrlein was moved from Mucke Motorsport and put behind the wheel of HWA Team’s Mercedes. He scored his maiden DTM win at Lausitzring and finished 8th in the Drivers’ championship and 3rd among Mercedes drivers.

The same year he became a reserve driver for Mercedes Formula 1 team. Interestingly, during the 2015 pre-season testing at Catalunya Circuit, he was driving for both Mercedes and Force India.

Pascal Wehrlein celebrates DTM title with his team

Pascal Wehrlein won 2015 DTM title

It was surprising when Wehrlein was crowned as a DTM champion. Driving against some extremely experienced racers, talented German confirmed his talent and grabbed the title in the penultimate race of the season

He won the races at Norisring and Moscow Raceway, finished 2nd at Hockenheim and Red Bull Ring, while at Nurburgring he took the 3rd place. His consistency was at the very high level as he failed to score only thrice from 18 starts. At just 20, Wehrlein became the youngest DTM champion.

Pascal Wehrlein debuted in Formula 1 in 2016 driving for Manor

Formula 1 debut with Manor

It was clear that he deserves a place in Formula 1 but having Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in the team seemed like he simply didn't belong there. He was patient and was even prepared to stay in DTM for another year, but in February of 2016, it was announced that he will drive for Manor F1 team

Wehrlein became a member of the team that is a total outsider but still he could gain a lot of experience in the 2016 season. He even managed to score his and the team’s first point, finishing 10th at the Austrian Grand Prix at Red Bull Ring. That point placed him on the 19th place in the final standings of 2016 F1 season.

Pascal Wehrlein as Sauber driver in 2017

Moving to Sauber in 2017 F1 season

For the 2017 Formula 1 season, Wehrlein joined Sauber F1 Team. He missed the first two rounds of the championship due to injuries sustained during the Race of Champions event at Miami in January. Wehrlein made a debut in the #94 Sauber C36-Ferrari in the third round at Bahrain International Circuit, finishing 11th.

In the fifth round, at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, he scored four points with 8th-place finish. He added one more point to his account with 10th place at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

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