Mercedes reserve driver and DTM champion joining F1 grid in 2016
Friday 19 February 2016 11:06, UK
He is 21 years old and has just secured a race seat with Manor - but who is Pascal Wehrlein?
Born on 18th October 1994, Wehrlein got his first karting experience in 2003 before competing between 2005 and 2009. In his first four seasons he finished on the podium 81 times, including 44 victories, before working his way up to the KF2 category in 2009 where he finished fifth in the ADAC Kart Masters.
He graduated to ADAC Formel Masters in 2010 - a similar standard to Formula Ford or BRDC F4 - and took one victory and a further three podiums on his way to sixth in the standings, 168 points behind runaway winner Richie Stanaway (currently competing in GP3 with Status GP).
He remained in the championship for a second season and took eight victories on his way to clinching the drivers' title.
Wehrlein graduated to the F3 Euroseries in 2012 and finished on the podium ten times, including a victory at the Nurburgring on his way to second in the standings behind fellow Mercedes junior Daniel Juncadella.
That November he contested the prestigious Macau Grand Prix where he finished fifth, just 3.4 seconds behind winner Antonio Felix da Costa.
The F3 Euroseries then morphed into European Formula 3 in 2013 and the German finished on the podium three times at the opening round at Monza, before being pulled from the championship and placed with Mercedes' secondary DTM team with three tenth place finishes the highlights of the campaign where he finished 18 points behind team-mate Juncadella.
He was promoted to the Mercedes' senior DTM team in 2014 and took his maiden victory at the Lausitzring where he became the youngest winner in the series' history.
The day after his breakthrough win, Wehrlein was named as reserve driver for the Mercedes F1 team.
Throughout 2015 Wehrlein became a regular sight in the F1 paddock and tested several times for Mercedes as well as Force India.
In addition he continued in the DTM, where he became the series' youngest ever champion.
For 2016 he will join the F1 grid with Manor who will use Mercedes engines.
