Photo: Daimler Global Press

Mercedes drop team orders as they write-off title chances in Hungary

Mercedes AMG have confirmed they will allow their drivers to race freely during the remaining races of the season after yesterday’s dismal results for the manufacturer.

Team HWA’s Robert Wickens was their leading charge in the drivers’ championship, and could only finish tenth in Race 1 yesterday, scoring a single point and falling further behind in the championship standings. The Canadian is now fourth in the drivers’ table, 55 points behind leader Marco Wittmann.

“Robert’s situation (in the last few races) is due to a number of issues, where the weight situation was an important part of his difficulties,” said Ulrich Fritz, Head of DTM at Mercedes AMG to TouringCarTimes. “Yesterday he was the second Mercedes so, although it wasn’t enough for the championship, we can say he is performing well.”

With only 75 points remaining to be won in the season, the 55-point gap is effectively too much to overcome, with the manufacturer confirming they will be dropping their team order stance which has been in-place since the mid-part of the season.

“If Robert were to do something great today, maybe we could dream and still believe something is possible,” added Fritz. “But I think we have to be realistic now with the situation and still try to get a good result in the championship, but also put on a good show for the fans and spectators out there. So yes, our drivers can go out and race.”