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Pascal Wehrlein will make his F1 debut for Manor this year. That is the claim on Wednesday of the major German daily Bild Zeitung, referring to the Mercedes reserve driver and reigning DTM champion.
Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has admitted to negotiating with the newly Mercedes-powered backmarker team about a seat for Wehrlein this year, but it was believed Alexander Rossi, Rio Haryanto and Will Stevens are all better funded. However, Bild claims: "Pascal Wehrlein (21) will race this year for the Manor team. The deal is to be announced soon."
According to former F1 driver and now German television pundit Christian Danner, it is good news. "From a talent perspective, Pascal has already proved that he belongs in formula one. Now he must show it to all of the German fans," he said. (GMM)
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C. Sainz jr
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Replies (5)
Login to replyHepp
Posts: 200
Ahhh, the power of Mercedes. Can't piss them off this early. Probably going to be partnered with Stevens.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Wehrlein is perhaps not the best driver in DTM, many times I felt like Mercedes gave him the wins, but he is good no doubt, so he'd be a good choice for Manor. As for the other driver I suspect it'll be either Stevens or Rossi, and I think Rossi could be the healthier option, as he was slightly better than Stevens and it'd be nice for the U.S to see an american driver in the sport. But Im not sure if Manor will be significantly more competitive with a Mercedes PU. Testing this year will once again be interesting!
khasmir
Posts: 893
What about Haryanto and all the money the Indonesian government is said to be paying for his seat?
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
It wouldnt surprise me if they took him, but I dont think he's been that horribly good, and there's a limit on how far money will carry you. Neither Rossi or Stevens come with empty pockets, and both have more impressive track records.
khasmir
Posts: 893
In the mean time it has already been confirmed but indeed, the money issue seems a bit weird if you look back on it. The others seemed to be better funded so I can only imagine it must be part of the Merc deal somehow.