Mercedes recruits Wickens and Merhi for 2012

Jamie Green, Gary Paffett, Ralf Schumacher and Susie Wolff were already confirmed for the 2012 season, but Mercedes still had two steering wheels to fill in addition to that of Christian Vietoris, renewed after a season of apprenticeship with the star manufacturer. The Stuttgart firm finally chose Robert Wickens, Formula champion Renault 3.5 Series, and Roberto Merhi, champion of f3 Euro Series, to complete its list of drivers. The Canadian will play within the Mücke Motorsport team which already runs David Coulthard while the Spaniard will take the place of Christian Vietoris within Persson Motorsport, the German joining HWA. This leaves Maro Engel and Renger van der Zande without a steering wheel for the 2012 season.

The two rookies will be accompanied by the seven-time world champion of F1 Michael Schumacher, who had also made the beginnings of the young drivers' team before finding the career that we know him. “I clearly remember the early stages of my career and what I learned from my time with the Mercedes-Benz Junior Team, both on and off the track”, comments the German. “It was the best way to learn how to work with engineers and it also helped me build professional relationships with the media. I can't wait to see Christian, Roberto and Robert evolve. Mercedes places great importance on developing the next generation of drivers and there are many examples capable of demonstrating this. »