Wehrlein: Pressure from Ocon a good thing

Pascal Wehrlein says he is enjoying the added pressure that has been heaped on him by the arrival at Manor of fellow Mercedes junior Esteban Ocon.

Esteban Ocon, Manor Racing and Pascal Wehrlein, Manor Racing

Esteban Ocon, Manor Racing MRT05, Pascal Wehrlein, Manor Racing MRT05

Pascal Wehrlein, Manor Racing MRT and Esteban Ocon, Manor Racing

Pascal Wehrlein, Manor Racing walks the circuit

(L to R): Felipe Nasr, Sauber F1 Team with Pascal Wehrlein, Manor Racing on the drivers parade

The decision by Mercedes to place Ocon at the Banbury-based outfit has left many suspecting that the winner of their intra-team battle will get the blessing to move further up the grid.

Although Ocon has enjoyed an upswing in form in recent races, Wehrlein insists he is far from worried about the situation.

“First of all, I like pressure,” he said ahead of the Mexican GP. “I have to say I really like pressure and it [Ocon’s arrival] is something exciting.

“I think people are watching more closely on our battle, maybe more than they have watched before in Rio [Haryanto] and me, which is also good.”

Wehrlein says that having someone alongside him as highly rated as Ocon was also good in helping him learn, too.

“Of course I have tried to see what he is doing different, or where are his strengths are and learn from him, as I tried to learn from Rio as well,” he said.

“But the main focus is always on my job and to improve my driving style and my setup in the car, and to make the maximum out of the weekend.”

Happy to stay at Manor

While Ocon has been linked with a switch to Renault or Force India, Wehrlein’s future is most likely to be with Manor.

When asked how he would feel about staying put for another year, Wehrlein said: “Definitely I would be happy because, of course, the target is to arrive in the best position as possible. If there is an opportunity to win the race, then of course I want to win the race. Let’s see what happens next year.

“I think the team has made big progress since last year and this year since the first race, which I am really happy about. And I think for next year, there is another possibility to again make a big step, and it would be even a nice story to join Manor and help it move forward.

“Compared to last year the gap was, to the second-last team, two seconds. And it is not the same team any more. It has changed a lot and it has made big progress.

“To stay here and make another step next year would be a nice thing to do and I am involved in the things that will happen next year and developments, so let’s see. I know zero about next year. So, no idea.”