DTM: Bad luck for strong Nico Müller
ACCIDENT AFTER TIRE DAMAGE At Zandvoort, Nico Müller was on his way to a top result with his Audi until an accident due to tire damage. On Sunday, he collected two points more than Nuremberg winner Edoardo Mortara. As eighth in qualifying, Nico Müller was the second-fastest of the six Audi drivers on Saturday on the dune circuit at Zandvoort (NL), just [...]
As eighth in qualifying, Nico Müller was the second-fastest of the six Audi drivers on the dune circuit at Zandvoort (NL) on Saturday, just behind his Abt team-mate Robin Frijns. After the mandatory pit stop for a tire change, the Swiss returned to the track ahead of the Dutchman.
After 17 laps, Müller reported a loss of pressure on the left front wheel. The attempt to save himself a second tire change failed: as a result of a puncture, Müller slid off the track into the tire pile in a right-hand bend shortly afterwards.
The accident prompted the deployment of the safety car. Frijns finished fifth behind four Mercedes, led by championship leader Gary Paffett.
Risky strategy brings success for Audi
On Sunday, Müller qualified only 16th of the 18 DTM drivers. With a risky strategy, i.e. a very early pit stop, the driver from Berne was able to move up to seventh place.
Like three weeks ago at the Norisring, this earned him another six DTM points. Last year's Champion René Rast, who stopped at the same time as Müller, drove to the first victory of the season for the Audi brand in the same way from third place on the grid.
Nico Müller: "It's always a highlight to be able to drive a race car at Zandvoort. A sensational track, pure adrenaline. In the first race we unfortunately lost out on fourth place and twelve points due to a puncture. That's annoying. On Sunday we didn't hit the balance window at all in qualifying. That's a shame because the pace in the race was top. With a good strategy and a perfect stop we worked our way up from 16th to seventh place. That's a nice reward for the mechanics who rebuilt my car after the accident yesterday."
A weekend to forget for Edoardo Mortara
Edoardo Mortara in the Mercedes scored even fewer points. Most recently a great winner in the first race in Nuremberg and second in the second, the Geneva driver, who starts for Italy, had to settle for eighth place.
The duel between the two Swiss (see MySportCH video below) for 7th place was one of the highlights of Sunday's race, but little consolation for "Edo".
Edoardo Mortara: "On Saturday, I had problems with the brakes in qualifying and in the race. From last place on the grid, I couldn't score any points. On Sunday, I at least made it into the top 10 in the second qualifying session and scored a few points in eighth place. After the strong performance at the Norisring, this was unfortunately a weekend to forget for me."
Incredibly, the two @DTM-Swiss @nico_mueller and @edomortara are fighting a duel! 🇨🇭 It's all about place 7⃣! #MySportsCH #HomeofSports #DTM #DTMZandvoort pic.twitter.com/m7YMlsbWDM
- MySports (@MySports_CH) July 15, 2018
Mercedes leads at mid-season
After ten of the season's twenty races, Gary Paffett (148 points) leads the drivers' standings with a 27-point advantage over his Mercedes colleague Paul di Resta (121). Just behind BMW drivers Timo Glock (101) and Marco Wittmann (98), Mortara follows in fifth place with 97 points. Nico Müller is eleventh with 29 points and third-best Audi driver behind René Rast (9th/49) and Mike Rockenfeller (11th/34).
Mercedes-AMG Motorsport also leads clearly ahead of BMW and Audi in the manufacturers' standings.
The second half of the season takes the teams to the Indy Circuit at Brands Hatch in England on the second weekend in August. The DTM was a guest there a total of eight times between 2006 and 2013 - for Nico Müller, unlike Mortara, it will be uncharted territory.
