Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsMercedes

Mercedes reserve Wehrlein to test GP2 on Wednesday

Mercedes reserve driver Pascal Wehrlein will test a GP2 car on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi following Pirelli's tyre test.

Pirelli has been carrying out a 12-hour test at the Yas Marina Circuit on Tuesday, with Wehrlein driving for constructors' champions Mercedes throughout the day. However, he will switch to GP2 machinery on Wednesday as he tests for series newcomers PREMA Racing.

Wehrlein will be testing alongside Red Bull junior Pierre Gasly at PREMA on the opening day of a three-day test. The Mercedes reserve previously told F1i he would be open to racing in GP2 next season if plans to move up to F1 did not come to fruition.

Wehrlein has been linked with a seat at Manor next year due to the new power unit deal with Mercedes, though Toto Wolff warns Mercedes is unlikely to be able to afford such a seat.

“You have to acknowledge that when you sign an engine partner is one thing and placing a driver is another," Wolff said. "Manor has the need to refinance their budget and it wouldn’t make any sense to oblige them to take up another driver if they are able to finance their operations with a pay driver.

"Manor has clearly increased the value of the asset. It is a team that came out of administration last year, they have managed to secure a Mercedes engine deal, they have managed to enter into a collaboration deal with Williams so the asset clearly has more value than it had before.

"So the value of the seat is more than it was 12 months ago and I acknowledge that. This is why nothing has been agreed in relation to drivers.”

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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.