Wehrlein began karting in 2003, racing only in Germany in his early career, progressing to the KF2 category by 2009 when he finished fifth in the ADAC Kart Masters.
In 2010, Wehrlein made his debut in the ADAC Formel Masters championship with ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V. (also known as Mücke Motorsport), finishing sixth in the championship with a win at Sachsenring and three other podiums. He remained with the team in 2011, scoring seven wins at Oschersleben, Sachsenring, Zolder, Nürburgring and Lausitz to claim the championship title.
In 2012, Wehrlein stepped up to the Formula 3 Euro Series, continuing with Mücke Motorsport, and finished second in the championship to Daniel Juncadella.
Wehrlein made his Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters debut with the Mercedes-Benz team Mücke Motorsport in 2013, becoming the youngest driver in DTM history at the age of eighteen. He scored his first points with two tenth-place finishes at Brands Hatch and Spielberg.
In 2014, Wehrlein switched teams to HWA, becoming the youngest driver in the series' history to claim pole position and win a race, finishing eighth in the championship with 46 points. His standout victory came at Lausitz, with his second-best result a fifth-place finish at Norisring.
In 2015, DTM returned to running two races per race weekend for 18 rounds. Wehrlein won the title, scoring points in all rounds except three, achieving five podiums, one fastest lap and two wins. He became the youngest-ever DTM champion and the first driver to win the championship without claiming a pole position throughout the championship season.
A member of the Mercedes Junior Team since 2014, Wehrlein was announced in September 2014 as a reserve driver for the Mercedes F1 Team. He returned to DTM with Mercedes-AMG's HWA Team in 2018, after Mercedes were unable to find him a seat in Formula One. During the 2018 DTM season, Wehrlein achieved one podium and finished the championship in eighth. On 14 September 2018, it was announced that after six seasons together, Wehrlein and Mercedes would part ways.
On 10 February 2016, it was announced that Wehrlein would make his F1 debut with Manor Racing. Manor would receive access to Mercedes's wind tunnel in exchange for hiring Wehrlein. He chose number 94, in reference to his birth year. Wehrlein scored his and Manor's only point of the season at the Austrian Grand Prix with a tenth-place finish.
On 16 January 2017, Wehrlein signed with Sauber. He was forced to miss the first test in Barcelona due to an injury sustained at the Race of Champions. He was replaced by Antonio Giovinazzi and later withdrew from the Australian Grand Prix after participating in the first two practice sessions, with Giovinazzi replacing him. On 3 April 2017, Sauber announced Wehrlein would again be replaced by Giovinazzi for the Chinese Grand Prix. He finished eighth in the Spanish Grand Prix after running a one-stop strategy, though a five-second penalty for a pit entry violation cost him seventh to Carlos Sainz Jr.. His race at the Monaco Grand Prix ended when Jenson Button tried to lunge down the inside at Portier and succeeded in flipping the Sauber onto its side against the barriers. Wehrlein scored his second points finish of the season in the chaotic Azerbaijan Grand Prix, fighting hard with teammate Marcus Ericsson for tenth position, taking his points tally to five. On 2 December 2017, Sauber announced that Wehrlein would not be renewed for the 2018 season and would be replaced by Charles Leclerc.
Wehrlein joined Ferrari as a simulator driver for the 2019 season, retained for 2020 but not continuing the following year, citing his commitments as Porsche factory driver.
Wehrlein moved to Formula E for the 2018–19 season, driving for Mahindra Racing alongside Jérôme D'Ambrosio. He did not contest the opening round of the season in Diriyah, with Felix Rosenqvist replacing him, instead making his debut at the Marrakesh ePrix. Wehrlein earned his first pole position at the Mexico City ePrix but was given a five-second time penalty for cutting a corner, relegating him from second to sixth. He set the fastest qualifying time for the Paris ePrix but he and teammate D'Ambrosio had their times disallowed for underweight cars, promoting Oliver Rowland to pole position. On 8 June 2020, Wehrlein announced his departure from the Mahindra team.
Wehrlein was signed to drive for Porsche for the 2020–21 Formula E World Championship, replacing Neel Jani and partnering with fellow countryman André Lotterer. He took pole at the Puebla ePrix and crossed the finish line first before being disqualified after his team failed to declare his tyre set.
Both drivers were retained for the 2021–22 season. Wehrlein took pole at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City and went on to win the race, claiming his and Porsche's maiden Formula E victory as well as Porsche's first 1-2 finish, with Lotterer crossing the line in second place.
For the 2022–23 season, Wehrlein remained with Porsche alongside António Félix da Costa. Having finished second in the season opener in Mexico City, he won Race 1 in Diriyah from ninth on the grid and also won Race 2 there to take the championship lead. He crashed out of the Cape Town ePrix on the opening lap after missing his braking point and colliding with the back of Sébastien Buemi's car. He took one further podium, a victory in Jakarta, but ended the season fourth in the championship.
In the 2023–24 season, Wehrlein, Porsche and Da Costa returned. Wehrlein scored pole for the season-opener and secured the first win at the Mexico City ePrix. At the maiden Misano ePrix, he crashed into Jean-Éric Vergne in race 1 but inherited victory on the last lap after an energy miscalculation by Rowland and the Nissan team. Wehrlein took his third pole of the campaign at Monaco. Following a Berlin weekend in which Wehrlein came to blows multiple times with reigning champion Jake Dennis, he lost the lead on the final lap at Shanghai to Mitch Evans. After two top-ten finishes at Portland, Wehrlein went into the final round at London with a twelve-point deficit to Nick Cassidy. In the Saturday race, Wehrlein battled past polesitter Evans to win and take the championship lead. On Sunday, when Cassidy retired following a puncture and Evans missed his second attack mode activation, Wehrlein finished second to clinch the title by six points ahead of Evans.
For the 2024–25 season, Wehrlein and Da Costa continued with Porsche. Wehrlein took one win and five podiums with two poles, finishing third in the standings 39 points behind champion Oliver Rowland. Wehrlein's performances helped Porsche win the teams' and manufacturers' championship titles for the first time in their history. For 2025–26, Wehrlein is partnered by Nico Müller at Porsche, as Da Costa departed for Jaguar Racing.
At the end of 2024, Wehrlein was chosen by JDC–Miller MotorSports to race at the 2025 24 Hours of Daytona alongside Bryce Aron, Gianmaria Bruni and Tijmen van der Helm. The team finished sixth. Wehrlein made his WEC debut with Porsche Penske Motorsport at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, and made his 24 Hours of Le Mans debut later in June with the same team alongside Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy.
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