Pascal Wehrlein is looking forward to learning another circuit when he visits Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez for the first time this weekend for the Mexican Grand Prix.
The Manor Racing MRT driver felt that he had a good United States Grand Prix, where he was able to finish ahead of team-mate Esteban Ocon in seventeenth. Despite some challenging moments, he was pleased with his weekend at the Circuit of the Americas, although the Banbury-based outfit were unable to achieve their object of fishing ahead of Sauber F1 Team.
Wehrlein believes it is too soon to know how well this track will favour the MRT05 but believes with a good set-up, the team can have a nice battle at the Mexican Grand Prix.
“Austin went well overall but we didn’t achieve our objective of finishing ahead of Sauber,” said Wehrlein. “They remain our main competitor right now.
“We have to keep them behind us for the rest of the season – especially in the Constructors’ table. It’s too early to know how well this track will favour our car, but I’m looking forward to getting to know another new circuit and finding a good set-up so we can have a nice battle here.”
Team-mate Esteban Ocon was unhappy with his results in Austin as he believed he could have finished higher up the order. Some of the Grand Prix he did spend higher up but he was unable to maintain this performance though and settled for eighteenth.
This will be the first time the Frenchman has raced at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez and there are two big stand-out features for the circuit.
“The first, that it’s a really fast circuit with long straights,” said Ocon. “One of the highest top speeds of the season. Also, the atmosphere – I hear it’s amazing, especially on race day. I can’t wait to try both of those things for myself!
“I think the racetrack will be where we’re spending most of our time this week and it looks pretty cool, so I’m happy for that. It also has a lot of rich history, so it’s been nice talking to Dave (Ryan) and Pat (Fry) over the past couple of days about some of their stories from the ‘old days’.”
