DTM: Nico Müller remains in the game 🎥
SECOND WIN OF THE SEASON, TENTH PODIUM At the Lausitzring, Nico Müller enjoyed the most successful weekend of his DTM career to date. As a result, the Bernese driver is keeping the internal Audi title fight with René Rast open. As the highlights from the first of the two races at the Lausitzring show, Nico Müller benefited on Saturday from the retirement of his leading Audi colleague René Rast due to a technical [...]
As the highlights from the first of the two races at the Lausitzring show, Nico Müller benefited on Saturday from the retirement of fellow Audi driver René Rast as a result of a technical defect in the electrical system.
The "abnormal" case occurred
However, the Swiss had to get himself into this advantageous starting position first, which he did with a good third place on the grid and an immediate advance to second place.
Nico Müller: "I was so far behind René in the championship standings that something had to go wrong for me to make up points. But you wouldn't wish what happened to René on anyone. I would have preferred to have settled the victory with him on the track. I believe that we would have had a chance even without his defect thanks to our very good pace. Unlike recently at Brands Hatch, you can overtake easily and without risk at the Lausitzring."
From 14 back to 20 points
With his second win of the season - the third of his career - and the championship leader's zero, Nico Müller reduced the gap to 14 points overnight. The following day, the gap grew to 20 points again as Rast celebrated a flawless victory in the 500th race in DTM history.
His Swiss brand colleague from the Abt Sportsline team qualified third ahead of him, but messed up the start and dropped back to P11. The fact that he managed to move up to second place with an aggressive strategy and an early tire change (without much resistance from his other Audi colleagues, of course) was more than damage limitation.
Nico Müller: "We got off lightly. There was already a problem with the clutch on Saturday. But I was sure that I would still get off to a good start, which wasn't the case - my mistake. After the early stop, I had pretty old tires at the end and knew that it would be difficult. I got a bit closer again, maybe I even took too much care of the tires."
This video shows the highlights of the anniversary race:
Master of constancy
Nico Müller has never scored so many points (45) in one race weekend. The 27-year-old from Blumenstein finished in the points in Europe's most popular touring car series for the 18th time in a row and on the podium for the tenth time this season.
He is slowly getting used to this feeling, but it is necessary.
Nico Müller: "If you have the title in mind, then regular podium finishes are the only way to get there. I can make up 20 points in the remaining two weekends under my own steam. The only question is how strong René will continue to be. In any case, we won't give up and will go all out."
Audi is manufacturer champion
While Rast (234 points) and Müller (214), the two BMW drivers Marco Wittmann (167) and Philipp Eng (140) and Mike Rockenfeller (Audi, 138) still have a theoretical chance of winning the title, Audi is the winner of the prestigious manufacturers' championship. On Saturday, the men of the four rings celebrated a one-two-three victory over BMW and Aston Martin, and on Sunday, as many as five Audi drivers were in front.
The next two races will take place at the Nürburgring on September 14/15, before the grand finale at Hockenheim on the first weekend in October. There is no question that there will be a lot of Swiss flags in the grandstands and in the open paddock.
