Manor’s German racer Pascal Wehrlein, has made claims that another year with the Merc powered team wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all.
The highly rated driver and last year’s DTM touring champion, is having a superb first season in the sport. Wehrlein scored his and Manor’s first point of the season with a 10th place finish in Austria, and has re-iterated his desire for more success with the English team.
“Of course I would like to go to Mercedes straight away and win races and hopefully championships but if there’s no opportunity I’m also happy to get another year with Manor,” said the teenager.
“I really like the team, I like how the team is working and I think the team is the same with me. I think they enjoy working with me.
“I think next year is a big chance for every team to improve their position. With new regulations it’s always a bit of an unknown where to go and what the direction is.
“The first year of regulation changes you never know who is going to be competitive and who is not.
“I think Manor could be a very competitive team next year. Even some people joined very late last year or the beginning of this year and the car was designed for this year already so I think next year’s car we have even more input coming from more people.”
The most likely outcome is Pascal will remain with Manor for another ‘development’ year before being the long term replacement for Nico Rosberg in the works car. Nico has yet to sign a new contract with the Mercedes team for next year however many believe this is a formality, with only the length of the deal proving the stumbling block between parties.
If Lewis and Nico maintain ‘clean’ racing with each other to the season’s finale in Abu Dhabi, then Wehrlein stays at Manor. One more instance of lost team points at Mercedes and a potential “DNF” for either car from contact, and Toto Wolff may be inclined force through a move for Pascal sooner than anyone expects.
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