Why transition from Formula E to Hypercar has been “so easy” for Wehrlein

One of the most high-profile rookies at this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours, Porsche Penske Motorsport’s Pascal Wehrlein feels adequately prepared for the demanding French classic.

The former Formula 1 driver, DTM champion and reigning Formula E world champion took sixth on his endurance racing debut at the Daytona 24 Hours alongside Bryce Aron, Gianmaria Bruni and Tijmen van der Helm, then ninth at the Spa-Francorchamps 6 Hours with Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor.

Wehrlein is now coming into Le Mans with a third set of team-mates, sharing the #4 Porsche 963 with Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy. Following the test day, he feels confident in his ability to be quick, regardless of the Porsche LMDh prototype being extremely different to the Formula E machinery he drives most of the time – because it’s too different for the comparison to be relevant in any way.

“Obviously I’ve driven many categories in my career so far, so in general I have a very good understanding of what a car needs to be quick,” the German explained. “I’ve driven DTM, which is a prototype touring car; I’ve driven Formula 1, which has a lot of downforce; Formula E, and now LMDh. I would say I have quite a big toolbox of driving styles – and adapting quickly to it, I know what it takes.

“I feel like, also, the transition from Formula E to this car is so easy, because actually you don’t have a wrong reference. The cars behave so differently that I don’t compare it to Formula E, I don’t take anything from that car, jump into this car and think, ‘yeah but here it felt like that’. It’s completely different cars.

“I would assume, for example, if I put myself 10 years back, and sat in a DTM car and then drove this car, there would be a lot more going on in my head: ‘Yeah, but my DTM car is a bit like that, and now I’m in this’. It’s so different. There’s nothing to compare. It makes the transition quite smooth.”

Team-mates Nasr and Tandy are competing at Le Mans for the sixth and 13th time respectively, with the Briton having won the race overall in 2015, which represents a wealth of experience for Wehrlein to lean on.

Asked by Autosport what advice his partners have given him, Wehrlein said: “So much. I think it would exceed your report!

“They’ve been so supportive. Felipe and Nick, the whole team – even Laurens, Kevin in Spa, my other team-mates.

“I’ve been asking a lot of questions, just because I know there are a lot of rookie mistakes and errors you can do, and I just want to jump that step. I want to be as well prepared as I can.

“A lot of it is actually procedures – rules, regulations, slow zones, all this stuff. A penalty here can be so costly.

“Timo [Bernhard] has been very supportive, giving a lot of advice on traffic management – how to place your car, where to place it.

“Jumping into the car, being on pace, on speed, that is not the thing. It’s more about procedures, about how to be fast through the traffic and avoid losing a lot of time there.

“If you approach a corner and you see it’s going to be tight to pass this LMP2 car or GT3 car, is it worth to push flat out and pass him, or will I not make it anyway, so it’s better to save energy and save fuel? Just that – a bit of a different mentality.”