F1 Fanatic

Just as it says in the title:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/98556

As we’ve seen in the past, both Robert Wickens and Roberto Merhi have been pretty competitive in their respective series, but their careers have been stymied by a lack of sponsor dollars. With Mercedes having supported Michael Schumacher (who will mentor Wickens) early in his career, and promoting Paul di Resta from DTM to Formula 1, I wonder if they are planning the same with Wickens and/or Merhi (and/or Vietoris) …

Single seater and tin top racing are very different to each other; and the driving and racing styles are very different.

I’m aware of that. It didn’t stop Paul di Resta, though. He won the 2006 F3 Euroseries, then did four years in DTM and joined Force India.

Then you’ve got Robert Wickens, who started out in open-wheelers and won Formula Renault 3.5 and came second in GP3 and Formula Two (and third in Champ Car Atlantic – he’s had success in practically every category he’s raced in), before joining Mercedes’ DTM effort.

Likewise Roberto Merhi, who won the F3 Euroseries last year, and had a few podiums in GP3.

I think that with Paul di Resta, Mercedes have proven that a driver can successfully move from touring cars to Formula 1, and that they are now accelerating their driver development programmes to get the likes of Wickens and Merhi into the sport.

@jholland – Maybe, but I don’t think Wickens and Merhi would give up on Formula 1 too quickly. Especially Wickens; he obviously has talent, and he’s being “mentored” by Schumacher. Mercedes’ long-term plans for Formula 1 might be uncertain for now, but if they do commit to the future of the sport, then Robert Wickens is certainly someone I would want in my corner if I were them. He’d probably be a viable replacement for anyone in the Mercedes family – Schumacher, Rosberg, di Resta – if they retired or joined another team.

And it certainly helps that the DTM regulations have changed for 2012, so everyone will have a brand-new car this year. If Wickens makes a case for himself, I would not be surprised to see him in Formula 1 in next season.

@prisoner-monkeys

I’m aware of that. It didn’t stop Paul di Resta, though. He won the 2006 F3 Euroseries, then did four years in DTM and joined Force India.

Then you’ve got Robert Wickens, who started out in open-wheelers and won Formula Renault 3.5 and came second in GP3 and Formula Two (and third in Champ Car Atlantic – he’s had success in practically every category he’s raced in), before joining Mercedes’ DTM effort.

I know – in fact that was exactly the point I was trying to bring across. Success in open-wheel series doesn’t mean success in tin-tops; and vice versa. I’m well aware of Wickens’ and Di Resta’s careers.

@matt90 won’t be the best way of bringing them through though – you’d be getting them used to one type of racing/driving which then won’t be relevant in F1.