Pascal Wehrlein described his maiden point in Formula 1 as an ‘incredible achievement’ after guiding his lowly Manor to an unlikely top 10 finish at the Austrian Grand Prix.
The German outperformed his machinery once again as he converted a highly impressive 12th place grid slot into 10th spot at the flag.
Wehrlein endured a drama-filled race which began with the Mercedes backed driver narrowly avoiding a penalty for lining up in the wrong grid position prior to the start.
After reversing into his correct slot, he enjoyed a strong opening stint but was put to the back of the field following an ill-timed Safety Car.
However, the 21-year-old fought hard in the second half of the race to climb to 11th before Sergio Perez’s late crash saw him record his and the rebranded team’s first point.
The point sees Manor move crucially ahead of Sauber in the championship which could prove to be extremely valuable to the team in terms of prize money at the end of the year.
“It feels amazing. I nearly messed up before the race even started as I was in the wrong grid position,” said Wehrlein.
“If I was maybe half a second later in sorting it out they would have penalised me.
“After that the first few laps were great. We were struggling a bit with tyre degradation and we were unlucky when the Safety Car came out after our second pit stop.
“I was last (after the Safety Car) and to finish the race in the points from there was incredible.”
Wehrlein downplayed hopes of repeating the feat during the season as his team had earmarked the Austrian Grand Prix as its best shot for points.
“To be honest I don’t think (we can finish regularly in the points), I would like to be able to say something different,” he added.
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