DTM: with Müller and Mortara again in 2018
DTM Last week, Audi Sport confirmed that Nico Müller would remain in the 2018 DTM squad. Today, Wednesday, Mercedes also announced Edoardo Mortara as one of the six drivers. Last year's Sauber GP driver Pascal Wehrlein will return to the DTM with Mercedes. For Nico Müller, the official news was that he will continue to race for Audi in the 2018 DTM [...]
For Nico Müller, the official announcement that he will again be driving for Audi in the DTM in 2018 was no longer a surprise in itself. "Nevertheless, you always wait for the final confirmation before you can be completely sure," says the 25-year-old from Bern with relief.
A surprise for him, however, was the news of the retirement of his last year's Abt teammate Mattias Ekström. After 17 years, 193 races, 23 victories and two championship titles (2004 and 2007), the 39-year-old Swede is ending his DTM career.
In addition to competing in the DTM as an Audi factory driver, Ekström has also competed in the World Rallycross Championship with his own EKS team since 2014. In 2016, he secured the WRC title here and finished the 2017 DTM as runner-up.
Nico Müller: "I had the feeling that Eki would attack again in 2018 and try to become champion. However, I noticed relatively early on that he wanted to concentrate on one thing or another in the future in order to have more time for his family again."
Who will be Müller's teammate is still undetermined. Robin Frijns will move up to the Audi DTM squad in place of Ekström. The Dutchman, once a reserve driver at Sauber F1, became Blancpain GT Champion in 2017 with an Audi R8 LMS.
Pascal Wehrlein returns to the DTM
Driver change also in the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport team, which will withdraw from the DTM after the end of the 2018 season. Today (February 7), the Stuttgart-based company announced that Edoardo Mortara will remain in the DTM. Whether the Geneva native will drive under the Swiss flag, as he does in Formula E, remains to be seen.
Edoardo Mortara: "There was a lot to learn in our first year together in the 2017 DTM. We dropped a few points, but ultimately we found a good way over the last few race weekends. It wasn't a terrific year for me, which is why I'm really looking forward to this season, where I want to do better. There are also new rules and we're all starting from scratch again."
After two years in Formula 1 (2016 with Manor and 2017 with Sauber), Pascal Wehrlein is returning to Mercedes-AMG in the DTM. In 2015, he was the youngest champion ever in his third DTM season. In 38 races so far, he celebrated three victories and six podium finishes. With Paul di Resta, Gary Paffett and Wehrlein, three drivers with Formula 1 experience will once again be competing in the Mercedes DTM team.
The 2018 DTM season kicks off at Hockenheim from May 4 to 6.
