It’s one big occasion after another at the moment as attention shifts from F1 in Canada to the DTM in Budapest. Just a short while ago, however, we received some happy news from the Di Resta household…
- This is what happened: Weekend results and facts
- News from the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport teams
- Three questions for Paul Di Resta
- Social media news: What’s new online?
- This week’s important dates and events
This is what happened: Weekend’s results & facts
- F1: Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas record first Silver Arrows one-two finish of the season in Canada
- ADAC GT Masters: Lucas Auer and Sebastian Asch take the runner-up spot in Race 2 at Spielberg
- 3 Ore Endurance Champions Cup: Swiss trio of Manuel, Philipp and Adrian Zumstein win the race in Brno
News snippets
Stat-Attack Canada: What a weekend on the Île Notre-Dame! After the disappointment of Monaco, the Silver Arrows were back on top in the seventh round of the season in Montreal – and in some style! Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas registered their first one-two victory as team-mates on Sunday. For Lewis, it was also a sixth success on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, where he claimed his first pole position and maiden F1 victory exactly ten years ago. Since then, he has lifted no fewer than 56 winners’ trophies in the highest echelon of the sport. By monopolising victory, pole, fastest race lap and the lead on all 70 laps, Lewis secured the so-called ‘Grand Slam’ for the fourth time in his career and the second time this year. Lewis has now won the last three Canadian Grands Prix, and Valtteri has made podium appearances in the three races most recently hosted by Montreal. Lewis reached a very special milestone in Saturday’s qualifying session, when a 65th F1 pole position put him on level pegging with the legendary Ayrton Senna. To commemorate this feat, he was presented with a helmet originally worn by his childhood idol.
Successful debut for Lucas Auer: Leadership in the DTM drivers’ championship and a podium on making his debut in a Mercedes-AMG GT3 at Spielberg – that’s the way Lucas Auer’s season has gone so far. Before travelling to Budapest for the third weekend of the 2017 DTM, he has just had an outing in a different Pink Panther. “The ADAC GT Masters is a first-class racing series,” said the Austrian DTM star who finished fourth in Saturday’s race. “ I am therefore all the more delighted about the respectable result with the Mercedes-AMG GT3, which had such good pace here at Spielberg. The podium finish in the second race was a great way to round off a super weekend which had already got off to very good start in the first qualifying session.” In Budapest, he will be back in the cockpit of his pink Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM BWT bearing the number 22 on its bonnet.
A good weekend in the ADAC GT Masters: A Mercedes-AMG GT3 on the podium and a total of seven Top Ten placements – not a bad haul for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport on the first stopover for the ADAC GT Masters outside Germany in 2017, in this case the Red Bull Ring at Spielberg in Austria. Sebastian Asch (GER) and Lucas Auer (AUT) driving the number 26 car entered by BWT Mücke Motorsport finished second in Sunday’s race. This highly respectable result in the second race was enhanced by the presence of three other Mercedes-AMG GT3s in the Top Ten (P4, P6 and P7). The first race on Saturday had already seen three Mercedes-AMG GT3s finish in the points: Asch and Auer in P4, the German duo of Luca Ludwig and Luca Stolz in the number 21 Mercedes-AMG team ZAKSPEED, and another German pairing Patrick Assenheimer and Maximilian Götz in the number 84 Mercedes-AMG Team HTP Motorsport in P6.
Class wins and podiums in the International GT Open: The number 20 Mercedes-AMG GT3 entered by SPS automotive-performance secured third place in the first race over 70 minutes at the Circuit Paul Ricard. This also signified a victory in the Pro-Am class for Tom Onslow-Cole (GBR) and Valentin Pierburg (GER). A result that was matched in the second race over 60 minutes by the duo of Marcelo Hahn and Alan Hellmeister (both BRA): driving the number 16 Mercedes-AMG GT3 entered by Drivex School, they took third place in the general classification and first place in their class.
Double podium in the DMV GTC: In the Dunlop 60 special class of the DMV GTC, Mercedes-AMG GT3s made it a double podium finish with P2 and P3. Over the course of the one-hour race, Kenneth Heyer (GER) and Josef Klüber (GER) driving for customer team équipe vitesse moved up from third on the grid to cross the line in second position. Wim de Pundert (NED) took third place in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 prepared by HTP Motorsport. Marc Asbeck (GER) driving for BLACK FALCON finished second in his class.
Second consecutive victory in the 3 Ore Endurance Champions Cup: Customer Racing outfit MDC Sports won the three-hour race at the Automotodrom Brno. In the Gruppo Peroni-sponsored 3 Ore Endurance Champions Cup, brothers Adrian and Manuel Zumstein (both SUI) in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 with the start number 3 have now registered a second victory in the series. The Swiss team had already won the season opener one month ago at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello.
Three questions for Paul Di Resta
Paul, your daughter was born this week. What sort of emotions does that arouse?
Paul Di Resta: It’s a very special feeling. There is nothing comparable. 18 months ago, our son Leo came into the world, and now on Monday, our daughter Pearla was born. She is healthy, and she got the timing just right, so that I could be present for the birth ahead of Budapest. Hopefully I can carry forward these positive emotions from my private life into the race weekend.
The season has not gone according to plan for you so far. What do you think are the reasons for that?
Paul Di Resta: That’s right. It has been a difficult start. At Hockenheim, we had very good speed, but unfortunately there was also an element of bad luck. I was not satisfied with the most recent race weekend at the Lausitzring and didn’t feel comfortable in the car. It was simply difficult to drive. Since then, we have regrouped and are now heading for Budapest with a slightly different approach. The Lausitzring did not suit my driving style or setup all that well. Now I’m hoping that our new philosophy will help. But I know that, when I feel comfortable in the car, the speed is also going to be there. Hopefully, we will get back to the way we were at Hockenheim. With a little bit more luck, we can also get the results we deserve.
What is the most important factor for you in ensuring you have a good weekend at the Hungaroring?
Paul Di Resta: In Budapest, there are a lot of corners that follow quickly one after another. For this, you need good vehicle balance. I hope that the track characteristics suit our car. In Budapest, you are also physically challenged as a driver. It is important to arrive at the track with the best possible car and then build on that. Together with my team, I now hope that I can get over the disappointment of the Lausitzring. Because as we know, when car and driver are in harmony, everything works extremely well.
Social Media News
#GrandSlam: Pole, fastest lap, victory and the race lead on every single lap – Lewis registered the fourth Grand Slam of his F1 career in Canada. In this video, he reveals how it felt…
Watch video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vmXPnX1CsY
# 65Poles: Lewis Hamilton looks back on a historic Saturday. He claimed his 65th Formula 1 pole position in Montreal to draw level with his great idol Ayrton Senna.
Watch video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxU91hp7i4A
#SaturdayNight: This was no ordinary Saturday night for Valtteri Bottas, Lewis Hamilton, Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda. Together with David Coulthard, they celebrated anniversaries for Montreal, the Canadian Grand Prix and Mercedes-AMG.
Watch video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zf2DKRisf9I
#RoadtoMontreal: It’s not just on the race track that concentration is called for. We accompanied the team on their journey to Montreal – on the bus, on the plane and at the gym – and we found out how they remain fully focused on the race weekend.
Watch video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyle4oTtNtQ
#Volta: High tension in the run-up to the Canadian Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas met the stars of VOLTA, the new show performed by Cirque du Soleil in Montreal, with the friendly support of our team partner PUMA.
Watch video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_a5-2z4c8Gc
Upcoming events & dates
| Date | Event |
| Friday 16/06/2017 | DTM: Budapest – Practice 1 |
| Saturday 17/06/2017 | DTM: Budapest – Practice 2, Qualifying 1, Race 1 |
| Sunday 18/06/2017 | DTM: Budapest – Practice 3, Qualifying 2, Race 2 |
Source : Mercedes.com
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