Of the three rookies who joined the Formula One grid at the beginning of 2016, the most expectation was on Pascal Wehrlein.
The young German arrived having won the DTM championship the year before and was presented as the cream of Mercedes’ young drivers on his way to a big future in the sport.
If that pressure wasn’t enough, Wehrlein joined Manor, a team who as Marussia, was also the first stepping stone in F1 for another expected future star in Jules Bianchi.
The comparisons were obvious and it was up the 21-year-old to live up to the opportunistic performances the Frenchman was known for in his time at the team.
A solid, if unspectacular debut in Melbourne got Pascal off to the right start in his career but we wouldn’t have to wait long to see some fireworks.
At the next round in Bahrain, the lack of downforce and a Mercedes power unit meant the Manor was a rocket down the straights, a trait that became common throughout the season.
Wehrlein made Q2 for the first time, starting 16th, and in the race, he was able to make progress through the field eventually ending 13th ahead of both Force India’s.
It was a first glance of what the German was capable of and he received plenty of credit for it.
As is always the case when at a backmarker team, opportunities to shine don’t happen too regularly but on the power circuits, Wehrlein was always a man to watch.
He wasn’t quite able to break out from the Q1 battle in Canada and had brake issues in Baku, but in Austria, Pascal had what many called his ‘Bianchi moment’.
Capitalising on a wet/dry qualifying to take a best ever position of 12th, the race actually seemed to have gone wrong due to a poor-timed safety car.
However, an impressive long stint on the soft tyres and a little help from Sergio Perez crashing out on the final lap allowed Wehrlein to finish 10th claiming his first point and Manor’s second top 10 result after Bianchi’s ninth place in Monaco in 2014.
Twitter: Thrilled for Pascal & our whole team. That sure was a special day at #AustrianGP. #AutosportAwards #rookieoftheyear https://t.co/t2WjyHtsfT (@ManorRacing)
While that would be the last standout result of his year, qualifying would become the proving ground after the summer break.
Consecutive Q2 appearances in Spa and Monza, achieving 13th at the latter, was once again proof of the German taking advantage of the opportunities arise.
Neither time he was able to capitalise, after hitting Button on the Kemmel Straight in Belgium and an engine failure in Italy, but the performances before the disappointment had been strong.
Two more Q2 appearances in Mexico and Abu Dhabi brought his total to six, the most for any Manor driver in a single season.
Despite the strong performances, the final races saw Wehrlein in a battle with Esteban Ocon, who joined Manor from the summer break and is a fellow Mercedes junior.
Many believed it would be the perfect chance to establish himself as the clear number one in the young driver system with the German carmaker.
However, Ocon proved very much to be the equal of Wehrlein once he had settled into his new surroundings, indeed, earning a promotion to Force India for 2017.
An incident at the US Grand Prix also showed Pascal in a different light as he argued with his engineer over the radio after spinning off in practice.
Hoping the marshals would push him out the gravel, he refused to cut the engine despite instructions to do so and it made Wehrlein appear quite arrogant in his attitude.
Yet, despite the more tricky end to the year, the German is now potentially set for what Bianchi never did and get his big chance.
Following Nico Rosberg’s post-season decision to retire, it has left Mercedes in a very difficult position with Wehrlein either an offered replacement for another driver or, more enticingly, the only realistic option to move straight to the works team.
