Mercedes Formula One driver Nico Rosberg of Germany (C) celebrates his pole position with team-mate Lewis Hamilton (R) of Britain, who finished second and Red Bull Racing Formula One driver Sebastian Vettel (L) of Germany, who took the third place, after
Mercedes Formula One driver Nico Rosberg of Germany (C) celebrates his pole position with team-mate Lewis Hamilton (R) of Britain, who finished second and Red Bull Racing Formula One driver Sebastian Vettel (L) of Germany, who took the third place, after the qualifying session at the Belgian F1 Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps August 23, 2014. REUTERS/Yves Herman

Amid reports of problems between their main drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team has named 19-year-old Pascal Wehrlein as their reserve driver.

"Aside from Nico and Lewis, he (Pascal) is the driver most familiar with all the procedures of our F1 W05 Hybrid and therefore the right choice for the role of reserve driver," Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport said via the official Formula1 website.

Pascal has been working hard in the Mercedes team simulator since February, playing a significant role in the pre-race preparations. The announcement came one day after Pascal won the DTM Championship at Lausitzring and has delighted the teenager, who expressed that he had worked hard to get the opportunity to drive an F1 car, his goal always being to do it with Mercedes-Benz.

Pascal drove an F1 car for the first time in Portimao, his Formula 1 test for Team Mercedes, which he passed impressively. His appointment has come at a crucial time when both Rosberg and Hamilton are gunning for the championship title and are involved in a fierce competition that came to the fore when Rosberg crashed into Hamilton's car in the Belgian Grand Prix, putting an end to the latter's race. The race left Hamilton 29 points behind Rosberg in the Driver's Championship. But Hamilton raced vociferously in the Italian Grand Prix to emerge winner and reduce the deficit to 22 points.

For the Constructors Championship, Mercedes is in the driver's seat leading the second placed team, Red Bull, by more than 150 points.

It may be noted that after returning to Formula 1 in 2010, this is only the second time that the Mercedes team has named a reserve driver. Nick Heidfeld was the last test driver for Mercedes only for a few months in the year 2010.