Following his late call up to drive for Mercedes on Wednesday in Barcelona, Pascal Wehrlein has stated that he feels he is prepared for an opportunity in a race seat with the reigning champions.
Wehrlein, who is currently learning his trade in his maiden F1 campaign with Manor, already possesses an abundance of test experience, having driven on test days for Force India and Mercedes since 2014.
Mercedes placed the German in the car today instead of Esteban Ocon, citing the fact that they wanted a driver with race experience to complete a programme which involved testing various development parts.
Topping the mileage charts with an impressive 133 laps, Wehrlein feels that he his now prepared for an opportunity as a Mercedes race driver, stating, “Yes I would be ready.”
In regards to his performance on Wednesday, he added: “It was a very, very good day. We did many laps, more than 130 laps, I am really happy with that. We could finish the test program and it was a good time in the car. I really enjoyed it.
“I think it has been half a year since I have been in this car. It just feels great to be back and it really feels different, so I had to get the feeling back because this year I wasn’t in the simulator a lot.”
His opportunity on Wednesday was only confirmed on Tuesday night. The timing is rather poignant given that it followed a successful first day of testing for Renault and the B-Spec powertrain, which is billed to give Mercedes’ rival Red Bull a performance improvement. In addition, Wehrlein’s drive comes amid speculation linking Nico Rosberg with rival teams.
Wehrlein’s now well-established role as the team’s reserve driver, triumph in DTM last season and impressive start with Manor, have all served to raise his stock and place him in pole position for a race seat with the World Champions, should an opportunity arise.
