Pascal Wehrlein could face an exit from Formula 1 at the end of the 2017 Season. This is according to Germany’s Auto Bild, who have said that Wehrlein, who currently drivers for Sauber, will have nowhere to claim a seat in 2018 which means that he will likely sit next season out and take up a role as the reserve driver for Mercedes or switch to a different racing series all together.
Pascal Wehrlein could find himself out of F1 in 2018
Last weekend at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Sauber announced that it had cancelled its scheduled engine deal with Honda for 2018, and that it will instead continue to use Ferrari power into next year, renewing its relationship with the manufacturer which began in 1997.
Since this deal has been agreed, Sauber has been linked to the role of being a Ferrari Junior Team, with Sergio Marchionne saying that this will happen in 2018 and that Ferrari will place one of its drivers in the car next season.
This means that it is likely that Ferrari will either place Antonio Giovnazzi or Charles Leclerc at the team. As Marcus Ericsson’s backers are key players in the financial side of Sauber, it is very unlikely that the Swede would lose his seat in 2018, which would suggest that Wehrlein would be the one who would be forced out.
With his Mercedes connections, Wehrlein could find himself at either Force India or Williams, who both use Mercedes power units. As Ferrari look set to retain Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen for 2018, it looks unlikely that there will not be an opening at Force India anytime soon as Sergio Perez looks set to stay with the team for another year. As for Williams, the team require a driver who is 25 years old or over for advertising purposes with Martini – its title sponsor. If Williams do keep Lance Stroll for next season, a driver aged 25 or over will be needed as Stroll is only 18. This would rule out Wehrlein who is only 22, making him an unfeasible option.
This means that it looks like that there will be no opening at any team for Wehrlein in 2018, and he admitted that there isn’t much that he can do about it: “I have scored all five points and in qualifying it is 8:2 for me against Ericsson. What more can I do?”
Having won the DTM series title in 2015, a return could be an option for the German driver, although Mercedes will be pulling out of the championship after 2018, which could prove difficult
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