Pascal Wehrlein dominates first free practice at the Lausitzring
Mercedes AMG’s Pascal Wehrlein was the fastest driver by over three tenths of a second in the first free practice session held at the Lausitzring this afternoon.
The drivers were met with the challenge of setting up the cars with their revised-for-2018 aerodynamics on a track very different in layout and tarmac compared to Hockenheim, with the Lausitzring also hosting a new, longer, layout compared to previous visits.
Wehrlein set a best lap time of 1:39.344, followed by Audi’s Mike Rockenfeller, 0.325 seconds behind. Wehrlein’s team-mates Edoardo Mortara and Daniel Juncadella followed, with the Spaniard 0.649 seconds off the pace.
Audi drivers Nico Müller and Jamie Green were next, with Philipp Eng the fastest BMW Motorsport driver in seventh, 0.732 seconds behind Wehrlein.
Paul di Resta was eighth followed by BMW’s Marco Wittmann and fellow Mercedes AMG driver Lucas Auer completing the top ten, with the young Austrian 0.779 seconds from P1.
Championship leaders Timo Glock (BMW) and Gary Paffett (Mercedes AMG) were 14th and 11th respectively, with reigning champion René Rast in 16th place in his Audi RS 5 DTM.
Action resumes tomorrow morning at 09:15 CET for the second free practice session.
