Photo: Daimler Media

Mercedes celebrate third victory of the season at the Lausitzring

Mercedes Benz were overjoyed that the hard work done in recent weeks was rewarded with a win this weekend at the Lausitzring. Pascal Wehrlein drove impeccably to score his first ever victory in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, becoming the youngest driver in history to climb to the top spot of the podium.

But Wehrlein wasn’t the only reason for joy at the Stuttgart headquarters, with the three-point star manufacturer having four of its seven drivers in the points, after a very competitive race.

Christian Vietoris was second, a position he held after defending Timo Scheider’s attacks in the closing stages of the race. Daniel Juncadella took the chequered flag in fourth place, losing a position after serving a drive-through penalty. Fifth was Robert Wickens, who had started 12th on the grid, also had a drive-through, and fought in the middle of the pack to finish well ahead of Marco Wittmann.

With this strong performance, Mercedes was the highest scoring manufacturer in the race, with a total of 65 points, and managed to promote Vietoris to second position in the Drivers’ standings.

Pascal Wehrlein built an impressive 11 second lead in the initial laps of the race, and highlighted the work done by his team, in terms of ensuring the strategy helped him to stay ahead.

“First pole, then the win. It hardly gets any better,” said Wehrlein. “I’m mega happy. My team worked terrifically well. The pit stops and our strategy were all super. We waited until the track was dry enough for options, then we switched. That was definitely the right choice. My pace was really impressive and I was able to control the race from the front. I’ve had an incredible day and a fantastic week. It’s all been simply fabulous. It’s a pity that Daniel didn’t finish on the podium today. He thoroughly deserved to and it would have been great to savour my maiden win with him by my side on the podium.”

Christian Vietoris overtook team mate Daniel Juncadella on the second lap of the race, and kept his cool when Timo Scheider was right up to his rear bumper.

“This is a brilliant result for us – a one-two win and four Mercedes-Benz drivers in the top five,” he said. “It goes to show that the hard work put in by the guys is paying off. I’m now second in the championship. You wouldn’t have thought so at the start of the season. There’s definitely an upward trend and I hope that it continues.”

Daniel Juncadella didn’t hide his disappointment after receiving a drive-through he considered undeserved. The Spaniard had hoped for a podium result.

“This is my best result of the season but I’m still a bit disappointed, since I lost out on a possible second place after being handed a drive-through penalty. That probably cost me my first podium, which is why I find the result disappointing.”

At Mercedes they are still realistic about their real pace in dry conditions, and are aware there is room for improvement. Still, their result today was better than what had been anticipated, and Wolfgang Schattling, Head of Motorsport Marketing and Communications, was full of praise for his drivers: “We never expected before the race to get four cars in the top five. Pascal’s performance was extraordinary. He maintained his secure lead to the finish line, becoming the youngest winner in the annals of the DTM. Christian’s charge up the field from eleventh on the grid was also excellent. Daniel and Robert drove strong races too.”

“We’re really enjoying today’s success, but we know that we’ve still got a lot of work in front of us. Compared to the opposition, our showing in the dry is still not that good. At any rate, it’s brilliant to know that our team can always do a top-class job especially when conditions are as tough as these”, Schattling concluded.

The best Mercedes placed formation in the Teams’ standings is the Original-Teile Mercedes AMG, fielding Christian Vietoris and Paul di Resta, in fifth position, but only nine points behind Audi Team Abt, second in the standings, with two races left this season.