Mercedes AMG head to Spielberg as the championship leader

The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters celebrates the second round of the 2016 season this weekend at the Red Bull Ring. Mercedes AMG tops the points’ tables and looks to continue their strong form.

Mercedes AMG started the season with the new C63 DTM, a car that has posed some troubles for the Stuttgart outfit due to fitting new bodywork over an old chassis, subjected to an homologation freeze until the end of the year.

Despite the aero problems created, the three-point star manufacturer had a very strong weekend in Hockenheim two weeks ago, leaving the Baden-Wüttemberg track as leader of all the championship classifications.

Paul Di Resta tops the drivers’ classification, after achieving his first win since 2010 two weeks ago. The Scot hopes to obtain a good result: “When you have a weekend as successful as we had at Hockenheim, you just can’t wait to get back in the car. In any case, we’ll be going to Spielberg in buoyant mood and also with certain expectations. There is a belief that we are going to have a successful weekend, especially when you see how hard the guys work. We just have to stay focused, then we can extend the championship lead.”

Robert Wickens also shook a few ghosts with a podium and a double points finish at Hockenheim, to be second in the championship table, just nine points behind his team-mate. The Canadian was a passive part of the ‘schieb ihn raus’ incident last year, but hopes to turn his luck around and have a positive weekend: “Two years ago, there was the disqualification, and last year we had the “Push him out” affair with my good friend Timo Scheider. It would be nice to get into the headlines for positive reasons this year, say with two high points-scoring results. Ideally, I would like to see the entire field in my rear mirror, just as long Timo doesn’t pop up there. Then it could be a great weekend.”

Gary Paffett also had a good performance in Hockenheim two weeks ago. The Briton drove his best race last year at the Red Bull Ring, coming close to the victory. Paffett expects to be on the podium this weekend: “I’m looking forward to the races at Spielberg. The track is similar to Hockenheim. So I’m hoping that we can produce a good performance there. Rain wouldn’t be a bad thing either. Last year, I drove an incredible race against Mattias Ekström in the wet on Sunday. After the season opener at Hockenheim, I hope that I will be making at least one podium appearance this time.”

Ulrich Fritz, Head of Mercedes AMG DTM, is on an upbeat mood, after a better-than-expected start to the season: “Hockenheim has shown two things: firstly, that our car is fast, and secondly that our guys were on the ball there, both on the track and in the garage. Furthermore, I was delighted with our strong performance across the whole team. The relief in our camp was commensurately great on Sunday. Now we have to make sure that we can overcome our Spielberg jinx. Two years ago, we had the black flag for Robert Wickens, and last year the “Push him out” affair. Our idea of the perfect weekend would be to leave the place on Sunday without any whiff of scandal and with a slate of good results.”

The DTM cars will be on track on Friday at 17:00 CEST for the first free practice session.