Tales from the paddock – Lucas Auer: “A DTM night race in Singapore would be really cool”

Preparations for the new season are really hotting up. While Formula One has entered the second and final test week ahead of the 2017 campaign, the DTM is gearing up for the first post-homologation tests at Vallelunga.

• News from the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport teams
• Three questions for Lucas Auer
• Social media news: What’s new online?
• This week’s important dates and events

News snippets

A World Champion visits: The new generation of Formula One cars is an inspiration to drivers and fans alike. Reigning World Champion Nico Rosberg could not resist the urge to take a look for himself. Nico paid a visit to the team last Wednesday while they were testing in Barcelona. “It’s good to be back, it’s good to see my racing family again,” said Nico. “There’s such a massive hype in Formula One at the moment. I wanted to see the new cars first hand. They look absolutely monstrous – very aggressive – and everyone is excited. The drivers seem to be loving the new cars so far. I think they will turn the drivers into proper gladiators out on track.”

New European Championship challenge: Maximilian Günther will be going everywhere with the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport DTM Team this season as their official test and substitute driver. He will thus be gaining valuable experience on the race weekends and in the briefings with the engineers. But it has now been revealed that Maximilian has taken on a parallel commitment: he is returning to contest the FIA Formula 3 European Championship in which he finished as runner-up last year. As a member of the Prema Powerteam squad, he will again be powered by a Mercedes-AMG Formula 3 engine. “Finishing second in last year’s European championship was a big success, but as a racing driver, you always want to achieve more,” says Maximilian. “I shall obviously be going all out to win the championship this time round.”

Ice Challenge: Lucas Auer and DTM returnee Maro Engel found themselves on unaccustomed terrain in Sweden last weekend. In the DTM Ice Challenge 2017, they were up against two fellow DTM drivers from Audi and two from BMW at the wheel of series production sports cars. In the head-to-head encounters, the fun element was of course paramount, but there was no shortage of competitive action. “Driving on the ice with spikes was a lot of fun,” said Maro, who finished second in the final against Marco Wittmann (BMW). “It was like having your birthday and Christmas all on a single day.”

Cockpit swap: Before the start of the new DTM season, Robert Wickens had a very special outing lined up at Sebring, where he was invited to take the Indycar racer of fellow countryman James Hinchcliffe for a spin. For Robert, it was his first time in an Indycar. Formula racing cars are nothing new for the Canadian: he began his career in a variety of single seater series, during which time he lifted championship runner-up trophies in Formula 2 and GP3 and finished as champion in Formula Renault 3.5. He also completed several Formula One tests in 2011. During the forthcoming DTM test week at Vallelunga, Robert will be repaying Hinchcliffe’s generosity by loaning out his Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM for some test laps.

Mercedes-AMG GT3 scores first overall win of 2017: During the season opener of the Australian GT Championship, Customer Racing Team Eggleston Motorsport had a near-perfect weekend with its driver Tony Bates. First place, third place and another first place was the outcome after the three 40-minute sprint races on the Adelaide street circuit in Australia. Besides the first overall race win in 2017, the success was also the 20th overall win with a Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the still brief history of the racing car. After the first Australian GT meeting, Tony Bates leads the championship standings, nine points ahead of the second-placed driver.

Three questions for Lucas Auer

Lucas, in your first season, a lot of commentators thought that nothing much would come of it, but in your second season, you persuaded them otherwise. What’s going to happen in your third DTM year?

Lucas Auer: If you analyse my first season in detail, you could already see positive signs – but unfortunately also some errors. But that’s what it’s like as a rookie. However, if you go straight for pole position, you can’t be that bad. In my second season, I was able to bring out my potential much better. So in my third season, I have to take the next step. But in the DTM, you soon get blown out making predictions. What matters is that I take another step forward. Whether it’s enough for the podium or for the Top Eight, I can’t say yet.

You called in on the tests in Portimao two weeks ago. What did you think, and did you discuss your impressions with your team-mates?

Lucas Auer: During test weeks, we obviously discuss our impressions. After all, we’re aiming to find the best setup. The new tyres and the new aerodynamics are very interesting and pose a big challenge for the drivers. You therefore have to change your driving style a lot. The combination of driver and correct setup is a particularly big issue this year. Consequently, I’ll be going to Affalterbach this week to do some preparatory work with the team. I’ ll be talking to the engineers and getting my seat adjusted.

This year there are some rule changes and a new car. If a genie were to grant you a magic wish, what additional change would you ask for?

Lucas Auer: I would ban all parts that can easily break off the car. This would make the racing more robust. It would certainly be even more fun for us drivers than it already is. And if I could wish for a tenth fixture on the calendar, it would be a night race in Singapore. This would apply the finishing touch to the DTM. I’ve already been part of the Formula One program in Singapore when I was competing in Formula BMW. Consequently, I’ve experienced the unique atmosphere and the track there. It’s a street circuit on which overtaking is definitely possible, and I think it’s really cool there.

Social Media News

#BehindTheScenes: The unveiling of the new Silver Arrow at Silverstone was full of surprises. But what actually happened behind the scenes? We followed Lewis and Valtteri around during the entire day, and our video shows just how much they enjoyed the occasion.

#LewisUnlimited: Chloe is back and subjects Lewis Hamilton to the toughest grilling of his career. They talk about time, tactics and, oh yes, Beyoncé!

#TimeLapse: How much work is involved in a Formula One launch? The answer is provided by our time-lapse video… in under a minute!

#ThisIsWhyWeRace: The tension, the butterflies, the racing. It is the passion for the sport that spurs Robert Wickens and his Mercedes-AMG Motorsport DTM team-mates on. In the video, the drivers tell us why they think about racing 24 hours a day, seven days a week.