Fourth race of the season at the Lausitzring: Three Mercedes-AMG Motorsport DTM drivers in Top Four

  • Gary Paffett (Mercedes-AMG Motorsport PETRONAS) took his second win of the year, his fourth at the Lausitzring and the 22nd of his DTM career
  • Pascal Wehrlein (Mercedes-AMG Motorsport PETRONAS) finished third on the podium for the first time since returning to the DTM this season
  • Paul Di Resta (Mercedes-AMG Motorsport REMUS) improved eleven positions and booked P4
  • Mercedes-AMG Motorsport PETRONAS head the team classification after the initial two race weekends; Mercedes-AMG are first in the constructors' classification. Gary in P2 is just one point behind the leader in the drivers' standings.
  • Gary Paffett: 'After two race weekends, I now have two wins under my belt - that's an incredible start to the season.'
  • Ulrich Fritz: 'This has been a great weekend for our entire team. Top job, guys!'

Second race, second win: Following the success of Edoardo Mortara (SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG Motorsport) on Saturday, Gary Paffett (Mercedes-AMG Motorsport PETRONAS) secured a second victory this weekend for the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport DTM Team at the Lausitzring. This was the British driver's second success this season and the 22nd overall of his DTM career following the season opener at Hockenheim.

The 2005 DTM champion is now the most successful driver at the Lausitzring with four victories to his name. DTM record-breaking champion Bernd Schneider and Jamie Green have both won three times at the Lausitzring. This was Mercedes-AMG Motorsport's 15th victory at this circuit and our 184th in the DTM.

Pascal Wehrlein (Mercedes-AMG Motorsport PETRONAS) finished third and joined team-mate Gary on the podium. For the 2015 DTM champion, this was his seventh podium finish in his DTM career and first since returning to the series this year. Pascal was last on the DTM podium at the Nürburgring in 2015 but has some fond memories of the Lausitzring as well, as he took his maiden win in the DTM there in 2014.

Paul Di Resta (Mercedes-AMG Motorsport REMUS) went on a strong charge over the 34 laps to finish fourth. Paul started out from grid position 15 and gained 11 positions thanks to clever use of strategy.

Edoardo Mortara (Mercedes Energy Mercedes-AMG Motorsport SILBERPFEIL) and Daniel Juncadella (Mercedes-AMG Motorsport REMUS) finished eleventh and twelfth respectively just outside the Top Ten. Lucas Auer (SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG Motorsport) crossed the line in 14th position.

Five Mercedes-AMG Motorsport DTM drivers are in the Top Six of the drivers' classification after the first four races of the season. Gary is on 71 points, just one point behind championship leader Timo Glock (BMW). In the team championship, Mercedes-AMG Motorsport PETRONAS are in first place with 110 points. With 212 points, Mercedes-AMG lead the constructors' standings from BMW (164) and Audi (52).

The next race weekend: The DTM will get this year's first fixture outside of Germany underway in two weeks' time when drivers line up at the Hungaroring not far from the Hungarian capital, Budapest (1st - 3rd June). Paul Di Resta won the first race last year on Saturday in Hungary.

Comments after the race

Gary Paffett (37, England):

  • P1
  • Car number: 2
  • Team: Mercedes-AMG Motorsport PETRONAS
  • Car: Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM

'That was a tough race. It was very hot out there, and the cars were sliding about quite a lot, which made it a far from easy race. Yesterday, I said that we would do our best, and today it was enough to win. We knew that our car was good. After two race weekends, I now have two wins under my belt - that's an incredible start to the season. After the pit stop, I was happy with the gap I' d pulled out on the pursuing group, but on the last 15 laps, I had to push hard again to stay ahead of Marco (Wittmann). Thanks to the whole team. It's been a great day and a well-deserved victory for them.'

Pascal Wehrlein (23, Germany):

  • P3
  • Car number: 94
  • Team: Mercedes-AMG Motorsport PETRONAS
  • Car: Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM

'It's working out better and better for me, and I'm really happy today, although I lost out a bit in the race. Gary and Marco (Wittmann) were more consistent and managed the tyres better. This was my first DTM podium since 2015, so the procedures were slightly unfamiliar to me. It is always the case that I am never satisfied if I don't win. But all that really matters for me is that things are getting better and I'm heading in the right direction.'

Paul Di Resta (32, Scotland):

  • P4
  • Car number: 3
  • Team: Mercedes-AMG Motorsport REMUS
  • Car: Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM

'It's been a good day in the end, but way more difficult than it needed to be. I should have been P5 on the grid. In light of that, fourth place after starting from P15 is pretty good. The team did a nice job with the strategy, and we had a longer stint than we thought we could achieve. We are consistently finishing in the points, and hopefully the big ones will come our way soon if we get a bit of luck.'

Edoardo Mortara (31, Italy):

  • P11
  • Car number: 48
  • Team: SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG Motorsport
  • Car: Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM

'I had to give back a position twice today, each time after overtaking Joel Eriksson. That may well have cost me a podium finish in the race. It was a great pity. Unfortunately, the decisions are not always consistent. Sometimes you have to hand back a position even though there has been no contact, sometimes you get pushed into the grass and nothing happens.'

Daniel Juncadella (26, Spain):

  • P12
  • Car number: 23
  • Team: Mercedes-AMG Motorsport REMUS
  • Car: Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM

'There was plenty of action in today's race. My start wasn't perfect, but I lost only one place as a result. My pace was good after that, and I was able to overtake a few cars. Unfortunately, I then had a problem with the front tyres and had to pit earlier than planned. That cost me time which I ultimately couldn't make up despite my good pace. Still, overtaking a couple of cars was fun, but this was not the result I'd expected.'

Lucas Auer (23, Austria):

  • P14
  • Car number: 22
  • Team: SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG Motorsport
  • Car: Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM

'I had a good first stint and was in the Top Five. Unfortunately, I lost some time in the pit lane and dropped back. After that, I had to fight hard, and towards the end, my tyres were worn out. I also had quite a few bumps and scrapes during the race, because I was trying to work my way forward again. For me, it's like after the season opener at Hockenheim: the speed is great, but we have to get everything else to come together. Roll on Budapest!'& amp; amp; amp; amp; lt; /p>

Ulrich Fritz, Head of Mercedes-AMG Motorsport DTM:

'What a fantastic race by Gary! He took the win in a very controlled fashion. Congratulations also to Pascal on his first podium since his return. This has been a great weekend for the entire team. Top job, guys!'

Race results: Top Ten

Pos

Driver

Manufacturer

Time

1

Gary Paffett

Mercedes-AMG

57:27.909

2

Marco Wittmann

BMW

+01.427

3

Pascal Wehrlein

Mercedes-AMG

+08.602

4

Paul Di Resta

Mercedes-AMG

+17.891

5

Timo Glock

BMW

+19.061

6

Jamie Green

Audi

+23.243

7

Philipp Eng

BMW

+24.292

8

Mike Rockenfeller

Audi

+24.631

9

Joel Eriksson

BMW

+27.050

10

Robin Frijns

Audi

+30.992

Drivers' Championship

Pos

Driver

Manufacturer

Points

1

Timo Glock

BMW

72

2

Gary Paffett

Mercedes-AMG

71

3

Pascal Wehrlein

Mercedes-AMG

39

4

Edoardo Mortara

Mercedes-AMG

37

5

Lucas Auer

Mercedes-AMG

33

6

Paul Di Resta

Mercedes-AMG

28

(...)

15

Daniel Juncadella

Mercedes-AMG

4

Manufacturers' Championship

Pos

Manufacturer

Points

1

Mercedes-AMG

212

2

BMW

164

3

Audi

52

Teams' Championship

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Daimler AG published this content on 20 May 2018 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 20 May 2018 14:19:05 UTC