Photo: DTM Media

Robert Wickens after hard-fought first win of 2017: “That was a crazy race”

Robert Wickens scored his first victory of the season at the Nürburgring today, putting the icing on the cake on a solid weekend for Mercedes AMG. The other side of the coin was for Lucas Auer who spun out of the track and did not score any points.

Wickens started from third on the grid, maintaining his position. After his obligatory pit stop, the Canadian was able to recover ground, overtaking BMW’s Augusto Farfus and Marco Wittmann.

“That was a crazy race. The start was tough, and the decisive move came with the pit stop. We had a good strategy and were able to undercut a bunch of people. But I had to work really hard for it, and I had to get past a lot of people after the stop. I was really lucky that the race wasn’t one lap longer, because Paul was pushing like crazy,” said the race winner.

Wickens and Wittmann came together again as Wittmann tried to retake the first position, with the reigning champion receiving a warning. Despite sustaining damage, Wickens was able to prevail until the chequered flag: “Marco and I had a fun little battle there at the end. We had a few minor contacts, but all in all, it was a really good fight. When Marco and I were battling it out, it seems we both took a lot of damage. After we made contact in Turn 1, my steering wasn’t straight anymore and some flicks were missing.”

Auer had a point-less day after a triumphant Saturday. The Austrian spun on lap six from third position, losing the opportunity to score points: “I made a mistake at a critical moment in the race. I have to take full responsibility for that. I am really sorry, because the guys work so hard and don’t deserve this.”

Auer’s mistake, together with Audi’s Mattias Ekström driving a hard race to finish sixth, mean that the Swede has extended his lead in the championship table, now with 136 points on his account, nine ahead of Auer and 12 ahead of fellow Audi driver René Rast. Wittmann is fourth, 21 points adrift.

Audi Sport continues to lead the manufacturers’ table with 550 points, despite struggling all weekend. Mercedes AMG was the highest scoring manufacturer at the Eifel and is second, 52 points behind. BMW Motorsport remains in third, 100 points adrift.