Pascal Wehrlein issues clear Sanya Formula E warning: 'We only have one chance'

Pascal Wehrlein has issued a clear warning ahead of this weekend's Formula E Sanya E-Prix, stating that Porsche has "one chance" to get it right, with this being the final single-header event of the season.

The German enters the Asian leg of the season on the back of a disappointing double-header in Monaco last month, where he failed to score points and fell from first to fourth in the drivers' championship.

What went wrong in Monaco was almost entirely out of Wehrlein's control, after being hit by Nico Müller and then reporting that he had a set of tyres which provided a very strange feeling.

Formula E's first visit to Sanya since 2019 marks an important weekend for the Season 10 world champion, who is in a position where he cannot afford another poor result.

Sanya is the type of circuit that could trigger chaos and incidents, potentially opening the door to a major title swing either way. At 27 points adrift, a poor result in Sanya could be hugely costly for Wehrlein.

With very little knowledge of the circuit, pressure is heightened on drivers and teams, particularly with just seven rounds remaining.

Double-headers, as will be seen in Shanghai, Tokyo and London, offer the chance to build into a weekend. In Sanya, that luxury does not exist. At this stage of the season, big points anywhere is vital.

"I think every weekend is obviously important as we approach the end of the season," Wehrlein told RacingNews365 during an interview.

"It’s getting more and more important, but equally, if at the end of the season you’re five points ahead, it doesn’t matter where you scored those five points compared to your competition, because whether it was at the beginning or at the end, it’s the same. 

"So all seven remaining races are just as important as each other. But obviously this weekend we only have one chance to get it right."

Wehrlein's sole Sanya target

Wehrlein is one of the drivers who has raced on the Chinese island before, with the 2019 Gen2 visit marking just his fifth race in the category.

With heat, humidity and possibly rain playing a role, the 31-year-old knows a repeat of Monaco must be avoided. For Wehrlein, the goal and expectation this weekend are crystal clear.

"The expectation and goal is clear, and that is to win," Wehrlein added on the team's expectations for Sanya. "There’s nothing else on my mind.

"We need to have a very good weekend, a clean weekend — no mistakes, no reliability issues, hopefully a bit more luck on our side than in Monaco — and we want to win."