F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Ferrari keeps Wehrlein in simulator role for 2020

Ferrari has retained Mahindra Formula E charger Pascal Wehrlein as its development and simulator driver for the 2020 season.

Wehrlein will handle the Scuderia's simulator work for the second year running, dovetailing his duties with his Formula E commitments.

Formula 1's restrictions on in-season testing has justified big investments from the sport's teams in simulator infrastructure, with outfits using dedicated drivers on race weekends to contribute to their team's set-up and development work.

"We still have experienced drivers for [2020] in the simulator," said Scuderia boss Mattia Binotto.

"So Pascal is staying with us [in 2020] but we’ve got as well other drivers who maybe are not so much experienced in Formula 1, but have done many years of simulator.

"Our simulator drivers are very well integrated in the team. The simulator is more and more important, that’s why we will invest on the simulator in the future."

The House of Maranello, thanks to the good results of its road car division, has invested heavily in an upgrade of its virtual equipment, underscoring its increasing importance.

"We're prepared to invest, and luckily the car business can support those investments, not only in terms of people, but also in terms of infrastructure," said Ferrari chief executive Louis Camilleri.

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Michael Delaney

Recent Posts

Horner names the true culprits of his Red Bull exit

Christian Horner has offered a revealing look back at his dramatic exit from Red Bull…

36 mins ago

McLaren Majesty: When Prost and Lauda stood alone

Alain Prost follows Niki Lauda by just two days on the February birthday calendar, the…

2 hours ago

Coulthard on why Bottas has the edge over Perez at Cadillac

Sergio Perez’s Formula 1 comeback with Cadillac is already under the microscope – and he…

3 hours ago

‘Not pure Formula 1’: Verstappen fires fresh salvo at 2026 cars

After pre-season testing in Bahrain gave F1’s drivers their first real taste of the sport’s…

4 hours ago

‘In Her Corner’: Australian GP celebrates women shaping F1

In a first for Formula 1, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation has announced that Turn…

6 hours ago

Theo Pourchaire joins Mercedes as F1 development driver

The revolving door of Formula 1 talent has just swung wide open for one of…

21 hours ago