Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsForce India

Wehrlein ‘an exciting young talent’ - Mallya

Force India team principal Vijay Mallya says Mercedes reserve driver Pascal Wehrlein is “an exciting young talent”.

Wehrlein is driving for Force India on two days of the second pre-season test at Barcelona, with the team running its 2014 car while it waits for the VJM08 to be completed. The 20-year-old won his first DTM race last season and will also take part in two in-season tests for Force India, and Mallya says he expects Wehrlein to race in F1 in the future.

“I’m pleased to give Pascal a chance to work with us in Barcelona,” Mallya said. “He’s an exciting young talent who has already proved he has what it takes to be successful at the highest level in motorsport. As a reserve driver for Mercedes-Benz, he’s clearly destined for a career in Formula One and I’m sure the test will be a positive experience on both sides.

“Being able to call upon Pascal for testing duties is also a clear demonstration of our strong working relationship with our engine partner, Mercedes-Benz, and I thank them for their collaboration.”

Wehrlein is driving on the opening day of testing in Barcelona and will also drive on the final day of the second test, with Force India’s race drivers Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg in the car on Friday and Saturday.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.