Pascal Wehrlein clinches his first ever pole position at the Lausitzring

Pascal Wehrlein (Mercedes AMG) made the most of the changing conditions today at the Lausitzring to get his first pole position in the DTM, clocking a best lap time of 1:17.547. The Mercedes AMG driver also became the youngest ever poleman in the history of the DTM, at just 21 years of age. Championship leader Marco Wittmann (BMW Team RMG) was the best qualified driver for the Bavarian manufacturer in seventh, 0.596 seconds adrift from pole.

The session started in damp conditions with a light drizzle falling over the circuit. Despite that, most drivers went out on slicks. After just two minutes, the session was red flagged due to Joey Hand spinning and getting stuck on the gravel trap. The Team RBM driver eventually managed to return to the track, but wasn’t allowed to take further part on the session. The incident also meant the end of the Q1, with all cars going straight to Q2.

The second part of the session was scheduled to run for 21.17 minutes, with race control adding the remaining time of the Q1 to the usual 13 minutes reserved for Q2.

Despite the light rain falling on the circuit, lap times kept improving, with the positions changing quickly. Mercedes fought hard, managing to keep their cars on the top 10 for most of the Q2.  The last five minutes were decisive, with Vitaly Petrov climbing up to sixth position, only to spin on the following lap and fall in the classification again.

Timo Scheider was the fastest man on the Q2, followed by Mattias Ekstrom, Pascal Wehrlein, Dani Juncadella, Gary Paffett, Marco Wittmann, who managed to get into the top-8 with just two minutes on the clock, Miguel Molina in seventh and Jamie Green being the last driver qualified to go onto Q3.

Mike Rockenfeller (Audi Sport Team Phoenix) was only able to finish tenth. The reigning champion was visibly disappointed with the result, seeing how he probably losses another opportunity to achieve a victory this season. Edo Mortara didn’t fare better, in thirteenth position. During the middle part of the qualifying both Pascal Wehrlein and Martin Tomczyk were reported to the Stewards for alleged blocking.

Bruno Spengler (BMW Team Schnitzer), seventeenth, lamented the lack of track time: “We started the weekend with a lot of difficulties and didn’t have time to improve. We will fight hard tomorrow.”

The crucial final 11 minutes started on schedule, with Mercedes’ Gary Paffett, Pascal Wehrlein and Dani Juncadella being the first out on track.

Juncadella (Mercedes AMG) set the first reference time, being beaten by Mattias Ekstrom, with a 1:17.876. Wittmann completed his first flying lap to finish in third position.

Jamie Green (Audi Team Rosberg) went out on a different strategy, staying out on track as his rivals returned to the pits after their first outing. The British driver climbed up to second position after his first frun.

In the final moments of the session, Miguel Molina, on his second set of tyres, got up to the first position, being beaten by Pascal Wehrlein, who set a fastest time of 1:17.547. Mattias Ekstrom improved to second, only 57 thousands behind the young Mercedes AMG driver.

Jamie Green squeezed another lap, going through the line with just seconds to go, to finish third. “It was a strange day, haven’t been able to work on the setup, but the team gave me a good car from the start, and this result allows me to fight for the top positions in the race”, said after the end of the session.

Timo Scheider was fourth, with Daniel Juncadella in fifth position.

Miguel Molina was sixth, albeit the Audi Team Phoenix driver is under investigation for not slowing down in a yellow flag section during his fastest lap.

Championship leader Marco Wittmann was only seventh, nearly six tenths of a second behind Wehrlein. Gary Paffett (Mercedes AMG), in a a very positive session for the Briton.

Pascal Wehrlein commented: “I’m very happy and proud of this result. The conditions were tricky and it was a hard session. Pole is a good starting point, tomorrow will be a different story and we will see what we can do to win the race.”

The race is scheduled to start at 13:30 CEST tomorrow afternoon, weather permitting.