Photo: DTM media

Who will get Mika Häkkinens Mercedes?

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It is only a few days after Mika Häkkinen announced his retirement from DTM and racing all together. Already the rumours are starting to go round about which driver will inherite the seat Häkkinen left in the HWA AMG team. This team manages the newest versions of the Mercedes C-Class cars in DTM, meaning the driver that will fill the gap in that team will drive one of the four new Mercedes DTM cars in 2008.

Among the drivers that are named is Gary Paffett. The Briton has won the DTM championship in 2005 in a Mercedes, and moved on to a testdrive seat with McLaren in Formula 1 in 2006. This year he returned to DTM as he missed racing. However, Paffett had to settle for a one year old car, but still managed to finish in fifth position with even scoring a win in the second race.

Now Paffett wants to get back into a brand new car next year if he fails to get a race seat in F1. “Once you get that winning feeling back, you want it every time. Next year I want to keep racing, and my options in F1 look limited”, Paffett said. “I really enjoyed coming back to the DTM, but I want to fight for the championship again, and that means driving a new car. But it’s up to the team to decide.” Some media however already report Paffett has made a deal with Prodrive in F1 for next year.

Another driver that is on Mercedes’ short list is Paul di Resta. The Scottsman made a big impression in his first year in DTM. Di Resta drove a 2005 Mercedes C Class this year, but did the impossible by scoring 32 points and finishing in fifth in the championship. He even led the championship table after three races.

Di Resta will also test a 2006 McLaren F1 car this week, as a bonus to winning the 2004 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award. He will do this together with Oliver Jarvis, the 2005 winner, and will be assisted during the day by Gary Paffett, McLaren’s test driver.

Furthermore, we received information that Paul Di Resta is going to test the 2007 Mercedes C Class at the end of this month on the Mugello circuit in Italy.

Alexandros Margaritis and Daniel la Rosa are also potential candidates for the seat in the 2008 Mercedes C Class. Margaritis has already proven to be a quick driver in the past three years the Greek has been racing in DTM. Daniel la Rosa scored a podium in his first ever DTM race, but maybe his actions during the race at Barcelona will have an negative effect on his chances.