Mercedes cautious over DTM form despite Oschersleben win

The Mercedes DTM squad is still cautious over its level of performance, despite taking a shock victory at Oschersleben with Christian Vietoris.

Mercedes struggled at the 2014  Hockenheim DTM season opener a fortnight ago, and after qualifying at the second round of the year at Oschersleben, it appeared it would once again have a tough time as Pascal Wehrlein was its best qualifier in 10th.

Following a decision which saw Vietoris – who qualified 16th – take on wet tyres at the end of the Formation Lap ,he and Mercedes took a shock victory by 0.6 seconds ahead of Audi’s Mike Rockenfeller.

While pleased with his maiden DTM career victory, Vietoris said after the race he felt that the win would not have been possible in dry conditions.

“My first DTM victory [and] to have secured it under such difficult circumstances and in such an eventful race is simply incredible,” said Vietoris. “I’m absolutely delighted.”

“We had been hoping for rain because our pace in the dry still isn’t good enough. A wet weather race was our only chance of challenging for the win today, and we exploited this opportunity to the full.”

“We need to keep our feet firmly planted on the ground [and] we are fully aware that we have to raise our performance under normal race conditions.”

Mercedes’ DTM boss Wolfgang Schattling echoed Vietoris’ comments and added: “we must not forget that we are still down in normal conditions and must catch up bit by bit – there’s a long way to go.”

Vietoris’ HWA Mercedes team-mates Gary Paffett and DTM returnee Paul di Resta also scored points by finishing eighth and fourth respectively.