Mercedes AMG Petronas Gets a New Reserve Driver

Giancarlo Perlas September 16, 2014

Pascal Wehrlein was announced as a reserve driver for team Mercedes AMG Petronas.

The battle between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg rages on. The people behind Mercedes AMG Petronas, making sure that they will have a Plan B in case one of their title-chasing drivers would be unavailable to race in the remaining events of this Formula One season, signed up a backup driver.

Pascal Wehrlein, only 19 years of age, will function as a reserve driver for the team starting the next F1 race up to the finals. He will only get to the helm of the W05 if either Rosberg or Hamilton cannot race. The youngster will be balancing his duties in DTM with his role in F1.

For the German teen, getting pulled in F1 is a dream come true. He also said that he has always favored Mercedes over others.

According to Toto Wolff, they decided to go for Wehrlein because of his familiarity with all the procedures of the W05 Hybrid. The Motorsport Director added Wehrlein has been an integral part of the team this year, helping them during their pre-race preparations. Overall, the DTM driver has completed 30 days in the W05 simulator covering more than 12,000 km in the virtual tests.

Wehrlein proved this week too that he is worthy of going to the big leagues. A few days ago, he won the DTM race at the Lausitzring, making him the youngest winner of the organization. The 19-year old showed his superior driving skills in the event from pole to finish, which impressed Mercedes officials.