The move of Pascal Wehrlein, who went directly from Formula E to the endurance racing, might look like an astronomical step on paper, but as the current Formula E world champion says himself, it has been “so easy.” Indeed, with his first appearance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Porsche Penske Motorsport, Wehrlein appears to have other priorities besides anxiousness over the on-track behaviour of the car he will be driving.

Having a background in DTM, Formula 1, and currently in Formula E, Wehrlein is not new to extremely different racing formats. Adaptability has never been a weakness of his, yet even to him, the ease of transition to the Porsche 963 Hypercar appears to be a surprise. In his words, it is all about the fact that the LMDh prototype is so incredibly different to what he is accustomed to driving in Formula E, the electric single-seater, that there is literally no comparison to be made. No muscle memory confusion, no mismatch of expectations, it is just a blank slate to operate on.

Wehrlein elaborates that had he made the step via a similar type, such as DTM to Hypercars, then his brain would have more work to do in making comparisons. He would be thinking, no doubt, My DTM car felt like this, and would be attempting to harmonise the disparities. However, the Porsche 963 is so distanced to anything in Formula E that there is no inner conflict. It is absolutely another machine with another set of goals, another set of feedback loops, and absolutely another data profiles. Ironically, that simplifies the transition. One does not have to unlearn anything.

Already having had two endurance races this year, the Daytona 24 Hours where he placed sixth, and the Spa-Francorchamps 6 Hours where he came ninth, Wehrlein is approaching Le Mans with both valuable experience and a fresh pair of teammates. He is this time sharing the cockpit with Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy who are both Veterans of Le Mans. In 2015 Tandy even took the legendary race overall. These two provide Wehrlein with a virtually priceless source of knowledge to draw on, and by all means, they have been more than willing to share their experience.

When questioned about the sort of guidance that he has received in the team, Wehrlein laughs and explains that it would be “more than your report” in terms of how far the help goes within the team. Whether it was Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy or Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor, who joined him at Spa, everybody has played a role in helping him blanketing his learning curve in the endurance racing landscape. And it is not even about the pure speed, of which Wehrlein promises, that this is the least of his concerns. Rather, he has worked on perfecting procedures: how to work around slow zones, the peculiarities of pit lane procedures, when to push and when to save energy or tyres.

Such minor choices as whether to attempt to pass a slower vehicle before a sharp turn or wait to take unnecessary risks can win or ruin a race. That is the kind of intangible judgment that experience brings and Wehrlein is learning as much as he can without actually having to go out and make the rookie errors himself. He asks questions all the time, goes deep into the playbook of his older teammates, and attempts to learn every trick and hint.

A especially valuable tip was given by Timo Bernhard, another legend in endurance racing, who shared some words about traffic management, how to place your car in a way that wastes the least time and is the safest. Such tactical information is gold dust in an endurance race like Le Mans, where you have to deal with the traffic of different classes (LMP2, GT3, etc.) all the time.

The strategy of Wehrlein is step-by-step. He is not depending on mere raw talent or former triumphs in different series. He is approaching Le Mans with the respect it commands, and realizes that even though his driving skills are transferable between categories, endurance racing is as much about strategy, patience and awareness as it is about speed.

It is also humble how Wehrlein discusses his preparation. He is aware that he is fast. That never has been in doubt. But he is also aware that a punishment for missing a slow zone or not going through the procedure can spoil an otherwise flawless stint. That knowledge-of the importance of every little thing-talks about a maturity that is going to stand him in good stead in his endurance career.

Pascal Wehrlein does not seem nervous or overwhelmed as he is going to take part in Le Mans for the first time. Rather, he appears confident, focussed and most of all prepared. The Hypercar may be the total opposite of his regular Formula E car, but as it turns out, that is precisely the reason how the adjustment comes so naturally.

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