Maro Engel failed to get up to speed in qualifying on the first three DTM weekends: Why it worked at the Norisring and what problem his team found
Until the Norisring weekend, the 2024 DTM season was a double-edged affair for Winward Mercedes driver Maro Engel: He was never better than tenth in qualifying, but then even took podium places in the races with strong comebacks, making him the best Mercedes-AMG driver in the standings in fourth place. And in Nuremberg, things finally worked out in qualifying with grid positions six and three.
Because his Winward team found a problem with the car? “The guys did a mega job, really turned everything on its head and ultimately found a problem with the suspension.”
He doesn’t want to say exactly what the problem was, “but it was material fatigue. Something wasn’t as it should be – and that had a relatively big impact and unfortunately slowed us down. “
How Winward found the suspension problem
The 38-year-old was particularly puzzled by the poor performance in Zandvoort. “It’s no secret that Zandvoort is a track that I love and where I’ve always been very good,” says last year’s winner. “And we were really bad at Zandvoort, to be honest. Mercedes were last in every session. And there was no performance.”
Nothing was visible on the data, but his Winward team “left no stone unturned” to find the cause. “They took the car apart and then found it,” said a delighted Engel, who thanked the Winward team after finishing second on Sunday in his 100th DTM race.
What does he attribute the suspension problem to? “The cars are alive, the series is alive,” replies the Mercedes-AMG works driver. “We drive on tracks where we drive over kerbs like crazy. In this respect, we have somehow caught this problem. “
Engel inhibited since the Lausitzring Saturday?
And not just at the third weekend of the season in Zandvoort. “We suspect that it started at the Lausitzring weekend because we had a very good test there – and we struggled in the dry on the race weekend,” says Engel.
The performance was still good on Friday, but not on Saturday. “So it’s reasonable to assume that we ran into problems there,” says Engel. “Then we went to Zandvoort for testing, where it was difficult – and then on the race weekend too. That’s part of everyday life – and it’s important that we find it and now look ahead so that we can be strong in the next races.”
Suspension swap in the Lausitz did not provide a solution
At the Lausitzring, Engel finished 13th in the first qualifying session and was disqualified in the second because Winward deliberately violated the parc-ferme rule after 19th place and, according to Engel, replaced the entire left front suspension because they saw a problem in the data. However, this does not seem to have solved the problem, as Engel was 18th and twelfth in qualifying the following weekend in Zandvoort.
Why didn’t he finish higher than 17th and tenth in the battle for pole at the season opener in Oschersleben? “In Oschersleben, we have to blame ourselves for not doing another qualifying run in FP2 like the rest of the field after FP1 was so good,” he says, referring to his best time in the first practice session. “We missed the fact that the track had changed a bit and reacted too late.”
On a positive note, Engel is fourth in the championship after second places at Oschersleben, in the rain at the Lausitzring and at the Norisring – and is only 15 points behind half-time champion Mirko Bortolotti. “The important thing is that we have found this and are now looking ahead – and are strong in the next races,” said Engel. “We are in the mix and will continue to fight. “
