Why Formula E and Mahindra are getting Pascal Wehrlein at his best

Wehrlein left his long-time backer Mercedes in 2018, believing that change allowed him to take control of his future.

That came after Wehrlein was stuck at a crossroads having lost his Sauber seat in 2017 at a time when Mercedes could not source him a new home in Formula 1, despite the German scoring points in uncompetitive machinery for both Manor and Sauber.

With Esteban Ocon looking an ever more secure favourite should a seat open up at Mercedes' main F1 team, Wehrlein's short-term shuffle into the DTM in 2018 was beginning to look more and more like a dead end.

Wehrlein said he "really liked" being able to control his own future more by leaving the Mercedes fold and joining Mahindra.

"I've taken that decision in the middle of last year, so far it has been the right decision, and I couldn't be happier with it," Wehrlein told Autosport.

That's shown in FE and Wehrlein looks a different man to the driver Force India once had doubts over in a head-to-head with Ocon.

In FE's Hong Kong pre-race press conference he was noticeably joking around with team-mate Jerome D'Ambrosio. They form a personality mix that Wehrlein has pointed to as important to Mahindra's form.

The atmosphere at Mahindra is clearly more relaxed than the pressure of F1 or the demands of a manufacturer in the DTM.

Wehrlein's start in FE was far from ideal too, with his recent form making it easy to forget that he missed the opener in Saudi Arabia due to the legacy of his Mercedes contract.

And then his first race in FE lasted just one lap before Turn 1 contact in Marrakech forced him into retirement as D'Ambrosio.

There was scepticism when Wehrlein declared energy management to be "quite easy" following that race, despite having no practical experience of the skill.

Yet Wehrlein proved his credentials by fighting for victory in Santiago - only derailed by the scorching heat that caused critical battery temperature issues - and then came within mere metres of the win at Mexico City before running out of energy in a topsy-turvy race.

Considering Wehrlein's DTM season in 2018 in which he never figured in the title fight for Mercedes and was quickly consigned to being rear-gunner for now HWA FE driver Gary Paffett's title win, it's a marked turnaround.

Asked to explain why he seems so at ease in FE, Wehrlein said: "The last three years I was in a completely different situation, I wasn't in a team where I was in the position to win races, to be competitive.

"I still had really strong races, scoring points in teams which shouldn't have scored points in Manor and Sauber. But I was the only driver to score points for the team too.

"It was a good experience but it's always a lot nicer when you are fighting for strong results and you can actually see a strong weekend straight away.

"Apart from that, I'm feeling really happy in my team. We are getting along really well, we are working together very well. It feels like a family."

And considering he is combining his increasingly successful FE commitments with a Ferrari F1 simulator role, it's no surprise that Wehrlein adds: "Everything together is making my life quite nice at the moment."