Pascal Wehrlein

The German would arguably have never experienced a performance like last weekend in London at any point in his career. “Give me more pressure,” he radioed, obviously pumped with adrenaline after his victory on Saturday in the Docklands of the English capital. And that’s exactly what he got.

Pascal Wehrlein was born on 18 October 1994 in Sigmaringen, Germany – the son of a German father and a Mauritian mother. Driving karts and single-seaters as a youngster, he quickly became one of the nation’s great motor racing hopes, beating other German talents and turning heads. The Porsche neighbours at Mercedes-AMG supported him early in his career. As a Formula 1 test driver for the Silver Arrows, he was crowned the youngest DTM champion in history at just 20 years of age (2015). He then moved to Grand Prix racing – including regular stints at Manor Racing (2016) and the Sauber racing team (2017). 

 Despite strong performances, Wehrlein failed to make a breakthrough in Formula 1. From his role as a test driver for the legendary Scuderia Ferrari, he switched to the fledgling Porsche Formula E Team as a works driver – but not before notching up experience in the innovative electric racing series: for two seasons, he had given the competition a run for their money in the Indian Mahindra squad. What followed was the beginning of a new German motorsport success story.

“I’m not yet an old hand but I’m not a rookie anymore either,” stated Wehrlein when Porsche was looking for a new driver for the 2020/21 Formula E season. This proved to be an attractive combination for the Stuttgart sports car manufacturer. And it didn’t take long for success to come. In just his seventh race with Porsche, he climbed the podium, and the following season he handed Porsche its first victory – set to the spectacular backdrop of Mexico City and narrowly beating his then teammate and fellow compatriot André Lotterer. 

When Porsche made the decisive leap in performance with the introduction of the highly efficient Gen3 version of the Porsche 99X Electric, Wehrlein established himself at the top of Formula E. Nevertheless, it was not enough to win the title in the 2023 season, partly because of inconsistent performances in qualifying, which, due to its knockout format, requires absolute top performance, especially mentally. For the 2024 season, Pascal and the Weissach factory team largely eliminated the weaknesses. 

In Mexico, a pole position and a dominant victory not only made for a perfect start to the season, but also made a statement to the competition - Porsche and Wehrlein: stronger than ever. All subsequent race weekends proved that the qualifying weaknesses of the number 94 car in particular had been sorted out: Wehrlein asserted himself as the best qualifier of the season. Fewer mistakes and, above all, a lot of bad luck due to contact in the tight Formula E field nevertheless gave the World Championship a dramatic finale, which Wehrlein, however, mastered with a sporting and mental point landing and thus secured the first Formula E title of his career and in the history of Porsche. Wehrlein is thus the first German formula racing world champion since Nico Rosberg in 2016.

Personal

Date of birth: 18.10.1994
Birthplace: Sigmaringen (DE)
Nationality: German/Mauritian
Residence: Switzerland
Marital status: Single
Height/weight: 1.75 m/63 kg
Hobbies: Snowboarding, wakeboarding, fitness
Internet: www.pascal-wehrlein.de
Instagram: @pascal_wehrlein
X: @PWehrlein

The career of Pascal Wehrlein