Wolff explains why Mercedes didn't retain Wehrlein

Si Mercedes studied the case of Pascal Wehrlein to replace Nico Rosberg, the reigning world champion team ultimately preferred to take Valtteri Bottas. The 2015 champion of DTM, young driver of the star manufacturer like Esteban Ocon who will defend the interests of Force India, was finally placed with Sauber F1 Team after a season at Manor.

“He is bright, fast and has always been considered, highlighted Toto wolff, the executive chairman of Mercedes Motorsport. But it is still in the development phase. He has to be able to make mistakes and learn and he couldn't do that with us. Just take as an example Sergio Pérez, Heikki Kovalainen or Kevin Magnussen. They arrived at McLaren even though they were not sufficiently prepared. »

The case of Max Verstappen is on the other hand a telling counter-example, as the Dutchman shone last year since his entry into the Red Bull Racing.

“We must not forget that Max had his developmental phase, retorted the Austrian. Red Bull prepared him perfectly by making him test on Fridays and making him spend a season and a half with Toro Rosso. And even when he arrived at Red Bull, he didn't have to fight for the title or face a driver like Lewis Hamilton. He won one race against 19 for us and he wasn't always at the front. He also made mistakes, like in Monaco or Austin (Texas), which must be allowed for a young driver because there is no second chance. »