Nico Rosberg will cheer on Mercedes protégé Pascal Wehrlein while attending the final round of the 2015 DTM season, as the 20-year-old looks to claim his maiden title in the touring car series at Hockenheim on October 16-18.
Wehrlein will travel to the German Grand Prix venue with a 37-point lead over Audi rival Edoardo Mortara, having already won two races and clinching another three podiums this year.
“The DTM finale is guaranteed to be a thriller,” said Rosberg. “I will obviously be keeping my fingers crossed for all my Mercedes-AMG DTM team-mates, hoping for a successful end to the season. That goes especially for Pascal, who could become DTM champion for the first time in his career at Hockenheim.
Throughout the 2015 season, Wehrlein has been dovetailing his DTM commitment with his test driver role at Mercedes and secured significant F1 mileage by driving extensively for both the works team and customer outfit Force India.
Rosberg is now keen to show his appreciation by rooting for his fellow countryman.
“When he's not competing in the DTM, Pascal is supporting Lewis and me in his role as reserve driver for the Formula 1 team. On this occasion, though, I would like offer him my support and to cheer him on from the team garage. I am already looking forward to two exciting races. You can do it, Pascal!”
Wehrlein could follow in Paul di Resta’s footsteps and make his F1 debut as reigning DTM champion next year – the Scot achieved a similar feat when he graduated to Force India in 2011. His name has already been linked to a Manor seat following the British squad’s switch to Mercedes power for 2016.
Chris Medland's Russian Grand Prix preview
Red Bull: Burning bridges everywhere
F1i technical expert Nicolas Carpentiers takes us through exclusive pictures of Renault's power unit
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter