Pascal Wehrlein is splitting his time between Formula E and Ferrari simulator work

The German has been juggling his time with Mahindra Racing and a simulator role with Ferrari as the Scuderia prepare for the new F1 campaign. And Wehrlein, a former DTM champion with two full seasons of F1 under his belt, has revealed how he switches between the two series without difficulty. Speaking exclusively to Express Sport ahead of the Hong Kong ePrix, Wehrlein said: “In every series it is different and there are a few key things you need to learn. “Most of them you learn by experience, getting used to the car and tracks. All of the Formula E tracks are new to me so maybe that is one of the most difficult parts.

“Working together with a new team is always a challenge in the beginning because you’ve got to get to know each other, but that has been very easy for me and also for the [Mahindra] team. “Driving wise, the racing [in Formula E] is different because you have to do energy management and there is a lot of communication in the races but you get used to it very quickly.” When asked to elaborate on how he prioritises between Formula E racing and F1 simulator testing, the 24-year-old added: “The time allows me [because] Formula E is busy from December to July. It’s busy but not too busy – You still have time to do something else. “When the Ferrari opportunity came up, obviously I had to ask Mahindra if I was allowed to do it and they were pretty open to it, and that’s great.

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“Obviously I’m spending a lot of time there in the sim, and it works perfectly for me. “I’m travelling from the Formula E races, then going home then to Maranello then to London then to the race. It’s quite smooth, but I just need to plan it a bit in advance!” Wehrlein has already turned heads with his impressive performances in Formula E, coming second in Santiago then missing out on victory in the closing metres of the race in Mexico before picking up a subsequent penalty. An unfortunate crash ended his chances of a good result in Hong Kong, but the German is still ninth in the championship despite missing the opening race of the series due to contractual obligations with Mercedes.

Wehrlein was involved in a crash with Felipe Nasr and team-mate Jerome d'Ambrosio in Hong Kong

“It was frustrating but it’s done now,” he said. “There is nothing I could have done against it so I needed to accept it. Therefore I am even more happy about the performance and what I am achieving at the moment. “I could be much more at the top if the races went to plan – without the penalty [in Mexico] and we had some issues in Chile with the temperature. I don’t think anymore about the first race.” Wehrlein admitted he mainly works directly with Ferrari engineers in his development role and has little contact with Sebastian Vettel or Charles Leclerc – the latter who took his full-time race seat at Sauber in 2018.

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