Pascal Wehrlein has hinted that he could compete in IndyCar on a part-time basis in the 2019 season. Will this end up happening?
Formula E driver Pascal Wehrlein has hinted that he could end up making his IndyCar debut before the 17-race 2019 season, which is scheduled to start in under two months, reaches its conclusion in September.
Wehrlein, who is in his first season competing in Formula E and drives for Mahindra Racing, has competed in several racing series before, including but not limited to the Formula 3 Euro Series, the Formula 3 European Championship, Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) and, most notably, Formula 1.
Wehrlein test drove for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport Formula 1 team in the 2014 and 2015 seasons, and he test drove for the Sahara Force India Formula 1 team in the 2015 season as well. In the 2016 season, he continued to test drive for Mercedes, and he also drove full-time in Formula 1 for the first time, as he drove for Manor Racing MRT.
In the 2017 season, Wehrlein drove full-time for Sauber before losing his ride to Charles Leclerc for the 2018 season. He did not compete full-time in the 2018 season and instead spent the season testing for Mercedes in Formula 1 and competing for the team in DTM.
With the 2018-2019 Formula E season consisting of only 13 races across 12 weekends over the course of roughly seven months, the series schedule, as Wehrlein put it, “allows you to do something else as well”.
Here is what Wehrlein had to say about potentially competing in IndyCar, according to Motorsport.
"“I could start in two more racing series. One in Europe, one in America. It’s true that we’re talking about it at the moment and that it can happen.”"
That American racing series is indeed IndyCar.
The European racing series, meanwhile, is the World Endurance Championship, in which Wehrlein would likely contest the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans, which is scheduled to end the 2018-2019 season from Saturday, June 15 to Sunday, June 16.
More from IndyCar
- IndyCar: Two teams with no drivers confirmed for 2024
- IndyCar: Chip Ganassi Racing news hints Alex Palou announcement
- IndyCar: ‘Addition by subtraction’ could pay off in a big way
- Team Penske should make a bold driver signing for 2024
- IndyCar: 5 teams that still have open seats for 2024
However, if the 24-year-old German chooses to make his IndyCar debut in the 2019 season, he would not compete in the signature event on the IndyCar schedule, the Indianapolis 500, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 26.
The reason for this is the fact that the drivers of the Formula E field are scheduled to compete in the Berlin ePrix Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit in Berlin, Germany on Saturday, May 25.
Given his experience competing in other racing series, it is likely that Wehrlein would compete in road and/or street course races as opposed to oval races if he ends up making his IndyCar debut in the 2019 season, especially given the fact that the Indy 500 is already off the table for him as a result of his Formula E commitment.
Will Pascal Wehrlein end up competing in IndyCar on a part-time basis in the 2019 season? If so, in which race or races will he compete and for which team or teams will he drive? The season is scheduled to get underway in seven weeks on Sunday, March 10 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. To read more details about the 2019 schedule, click here.