Former Sauber and Mercedes junior driver Pascal Wehrlein has turned down a race seat in Formula E to pursue a drive in Formula One. The German split from the Mercedes programme after rumours suggested his ties to the team prevented him from finding seats elsewhere.
According to HWA team boss Ulrich Fritz, the Mercedes-affiliated Formula E team had offered a race seat to Wehrlein for the 2018/19 season with the team, but he turned down the offer to look for a drive in Formula One.
Speaking to Brazil's Globo, Fritz said that in his view, Wehrlein was determined to find a way back into Formula One.
"Pascal did well in his test but at the time we wanted to make the decision. Pascal's focus was very clearly on returning to F1.
"I can understand that, but I do not want to set up a team where a driver says after two races that he is leaving to enter F1.
"Our expectation was that Pascal would decide in favour of Formula E for the long term."
"He couldn't and didn't want to do that at that moment. (We) understood, respected and accepted (his decision).
"Accordingly, this project did not come about in its present form. We never really got into any further talks, because it just didn't fit together."