The newly crowned Formula E champion Pascal Wehrlein has opened up about his difficult start at Porsche in the all-electric series.
The German driver won the championship at the London ePrix after a tense final round of the season, six points ahead of Mitch Evans.
He moved to Formula E after a difficult stint in Formula 1 earlier in his career before moving to Mahindra in the all-electric series.
Wehrlein drove for four seasons in Formula E with little to show for his efforts before taking a step forward with Porsche in the 2022/23 campaign and winning the title last season.
Wehrlein discusses his difficult start to life at Porsche
The German driver switched to the Porsche Formula E team for the 2020/21 season after two unsuccessful years at Mahindra, taking just one podium in his debut year with the team.
Porsche proved to be a step up, scoring pole positions and podiums before taking his first victory at Mexico City.
Despite standing on the top step of the podium in Mexico, Wehrlein was unable to challenge for the title after consistently being at the front in junior series and DTM.
Wehrlein told RacingNews365 that his early seasons in Formula E were a rollercoaster with victories and lacklustre moments.
“I did the switch to Formula E [after racing in F1] and I didn’t have the car there as well to win the championship,” he said. “When I started with Mahindra, especially then but also when I did my first two years with Porsche.
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“We always had good highlights we had race wins, but we also had very low lows where it was hard to score points actually. So, definitely Season 9 and Season 10, for like the first time we were in contention for a championship fight.”
Wehrlein feeling ‘super involved in the success’ after delivering Porsche’s first Formula E title
The Porsche Formula E team have battled along a gruelling road to success since joining the championship in the 2019/20 season.
The German manufacturer left the World Endurance Championship after winning the championship and at Le Mans against the might of Toyota.
Wehrlein delivered the first win for Porsche in Formula E, driving to victory in the Mexico City ePrix in 2022 after failing to stand on the top step after multiple seasons.
Wehrlein discusses the road he and the team have navigated and how successful the team has been as a unit.
He added: “It’s been a long journey together, it feels like I was there from almost since Porsche joined Formula E. We’ve made all this progress together and we’ve made all these steps together. So I just feel super involved in the success.
“That makes it even nicer, being a big part of it and seeing all the hard work which we did the last couple of years finally pay off. Feels amazing.”
Wehrlein remained consistent during his title-winning campaign, taking three victories and minimising the bad days, finishing in the top 10 in all but two of the races.
He may have every opportunity to challenge for his second championship in the upcoming season for Porsche, which kicks off in Brazil on the seventh of December 2024.