Di Resta and Auer achieve one-two win in DTM Hungary

Fourth victory in the fifth race of the season for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport

• Paul Di Resta (Mercedes-AMG Motorsport REMUS) celebrates his ninth win in the DTM and his first this season
• Paul and Lucas Auer (SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG Motorsport) secured the brand’s 106th one-two win in the DTM and second this season
• Five Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTMs in the Top Ten: Edoardo Mortara (Mercedes-Benz Motorsport SILBERPFEIL), Gary Paffett (Mercedes-Benz Motorsport PETRONAS) and Daniel Juncadella (Mercedes-AMG Motorsport REMUS) finish fifth, sixth and tenth respectively
• Gary leads the drivers’ standings by seven points after this season’s first five races; Mercedes-AMG Motorsport PETRONAS and Mercedes-AMG occupy the top spot in their respective rankings, the team and constructors’ championship classification
• Paul Di Resta: “After this victory, I’m obviously delighted. Overall, we’ve done a very good job all day and ultimately got the best possible result.”
• Ulrich Fritz: “That was again a very strong team performance, crowned by a fantastic one-two win for Paul and Lucas and by Gary taking the championship lead.”

Mercedes-AMG Motorsport conquer the Hungaroring. After having had a tough time racing in the DTM in recent years, Paul Di Resta (Mercedes-AMG Motorsport REMUS) and Lucas Auer, main pix (SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG Motorsport) achieved a one-two victory at the circuit near the Hungarian capital. For Mercedes-AMG Motorsport, this was their 185th victory in the DTM and fourth at the Hungaroring. Their first two successes were achieved by Johnny Cecotto as the DTM held its first meeting at the Hungarian track back in 1988.

For the eighth time in his DTM career, Paul went from pole to achieve his ninth win in the DTM. Paul has won six of the eight races, in which he has started from P1 on the grid, finishing second in both of the other two. Following his win last year, this was Paul’s second success at the Hungaroring and his 32nd podium finish in the DTM.

Lucas achieved his eighth DTM podium in Hungary and his first at the Hungaroring. This was the team’s 106th one-two victory in 30 years of racing in the DTM and the second this season after the opening round at Hockenheim. Gary Paffett and Lucas booked P1 and 2 there.

After 35 laps, five of the six Mercedes-AMG Motorsport DTM drivers were in the Top Ten. Edoardo Mortara (Energy Mercedes-AMG Motorsport SILBERPFEIL) and Gary Paffett (Mercedes-AMG Motorsport PETRONAS) took fifth and sixth place respectively. Daniel Juncadella (Mercedes-AMG Motorsport REMUS) finished the race in tenth place. Pascal Wehrlein (Mercedes-AMG Motorsport PETRONAS) crossed the line in P13.

After finishing in sixth place, Gary is now on 79 points and has taken over the lead in the drivers’ standings from BMW driver Timo Glock (72 points). Five Mercedes-AMG Motorsport DTM drivers – Gary, Lucas, Paul, Edoardo and Pascal – are still in the Top Six overall. In the team championship, Mercedes-AMG Motorsport PETRONAS on 118 points have a 19-point lead on Team SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG Motorsport (99 points) after five races. Mercedes-AMG (278 points) continue to occupy the top spot in the manufacturers’ classification with a 114-point lead on BMW.

Looking ahead to race 2: The sixth round of the 2018 DTM season starts on Sunday at 13:30 CEST (live on SAT.1 at 13:00 CEST). Third practice will take place before that at 08:30 CEST followed by the second qualifying at 11:20 CEST. During each race weekend, we will provide live timing data, live commentary, fan voting and exclusive behind-the-scenes videos of the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport DTM Team on our website at: www.mercedes-amg-motorsport.com/dtm.

Comments after the race

Paul Di Resta (32, Scotland):

• P1
• Car number: 3
• Team: Mercedes-AMG Motorsport REMUS
• Car: Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM

“After this victory, I’m obviously delighted. We did not have the best of pit stops – Nico Müller probably had a better one – but overall, we’ve done a very good job all day, from practice through qualifying to the race itself, and we ultimately got the best possible result. It’s always about getting the right balance and level of cooperation, as was the case today with Lucas. We didn’t make life difficult for each other and we showed good teamwork. That’s precisely what matters.”

Lucas Auer (23, Austria):

• P2
• Car number: 22
• Team: SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG Motorsport
• Car: Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM

“That was a superb performance, and I’m happy with the result. Anyway, tomorrow is another day. Obviously, I’d like to be right on top next time, but sometimes that’s difficult in the DTM. If I manage another podium appearance tomorrow, then it will have been a mega weekend for me.”

Edoardo Mortara (31, Italy):

• P5
• Car number: 48
• Team: SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG Motorsport
• Car: Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM

“All in all, it’s been a good day for Mercedes. For me personally, it was so-so. It wasn’t a bad day as such, but it was also a bit strange. Qualifying was OK, but I could have done better if I hadn’t made a mistake. In the race itself, I was slightly down in terms of pace. Normally, we are better in the race than in qualifying, but today, for some reason, it was hard for me to fend off the challenge from René Rast. Ultimately, though, I’ll happily take the points and remember it as a good day for the team with the one-two win for Paul and Lucas. Tomorrow, I’ll be aiming to do even better.”

Gary Paffett (37, England):

• P6
• Car number: 2
• Team: Mercedes-AMG Motorsport PETRONAS
• Car: Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM

“It was always going to be difficult from P9, as it’s very hard to overtake here. I got off to a good start and gained a couple of positions. After that, it was a matter of trying to stop at the right time to come out in clear air. Unfortunately, we emerged into some traffic through pitting a long time after the others. I came out in P10 and had some cars to pass, but the car was great in the second stint, and I managed to overtake a couple of people and finish in P6, which is pretty good from ninth on the grid. We got good points again, so I’m pretty happy with the race. The car has been very good all year so far. Obviously, my team-mates did a better job in qualifying today, so I’m aiming to improve on that score tomorrow.”

Daniel Juncadella (26, Spain):

• P10
• Car number: 23
• Team: Mercedes-AMG Motorsport REMUS
• Car: Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM

“The start of the race was good. I was in sixth place and was happy with my pace. After four or five laps, though, I got a strange feeling in the car, and after five more laps, I let Gary go past because the car was behaving strangely. After that, I had the feeling I might be losing a tyre, so I immediately headed for the pits. Luckily, I got there OK, and after the stop, the pace was good again. In the end, I managed to move up to tenth. It’s a shame really, because it could easily have been a Top Six finish otherwise.”

Pascal Wehrlein (23, Germany):

• P13
• Car number: 94
• Team: Mercedes-AMG Motorsport PETRONAS
• Car: Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM

“I’m really dissatisfied with today. For some reason, neither qualifying nor the race went well. We now have to look at the reason for that and whether we need to change the setup. The other Mercedes drivers have shown that the car is good. All in all, I’m absolutely not happy with the day.”

Ulrich Fritz, Head of Mercedes-AMG Motorsport DTM:

“That was again a very strong team performance, crowned by a fantastic one-two win for Paul and Lucas and by Gary taking the championship lead. The fact that we’ve achieved this on a track where we haven’t always been so successful in the past is all the more significant. It shows that we have a car which currently has superb balance. My compliments to the whole team who have been doing a great job all season.”

Race results: Top Ten

Drivers‘ Championship

Manufacturers‘ Championship

Teams‘ Championship

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