After David Schumacher caused a stir with a collision on Saturday, the Mercedes driver recorded his best DTM result on Sunday with ninth place
First frustration, then desire? After a collision on Saturday, David Schumacher drove his best DTM race so far on Sunday. The Winward Mercedes driver’s succinct conclusion: “We scored points, but unfortunately I was hoping for more. “
And that was despite the 21-year-old crossing the finish line in the top 10 despite rainy conditions and enjoying important points for the overall standings with ninth place. In contrast to the races so far this season, things went very well at the Nürburgring.
Even in qualifying, Schumacher finished fourth, but due to a penalty against Jack Aitken (Emil-Frey-Ferrari), the German moved up to third on the grid. After the race start, the Mercedes-AMG driver was in second position for a while. “The race was actually good, from the pace we were very strong,” he summed up.
Schumacher fumbles in the rain
After the pit stop, which Schumacher made on the 15th lap of the race, however, the Mercedes driver ran into trouble. “We had speculated that the rain would let up a little in the closing stages,” Schumacher revealed. For this reason, the Winward team chose a low tyre pressure, just as they did for Auer.
“Unfortunately, this was not the case, so that it became increasingly difficult for us to keep the tyres at the right temperature,” Schumacher described. Another problem: The German came into the pits shortly before a full-course yellow phase, so that the competition, who opted for a later stop, had an advantage.
As a result, the 21-year-old dropped back to tenth place. With blunt weapons, the Mercedes driver fought his way past Tim Heinemann, but more than ninth place was not possible in the end. “It’s a shame, but it’s part of the game,” Schumacher told ‘ran.de’. “You gambol in weather like this and unfortunately it didn’t work out for us. “
Despite bad luck in the race: satisfaction prevails
Nevertheless, Schumacher can be pleased with his ninth place. “All in all, it was a good day for us,” summed up the Mercedes driver. “The pace was very good throughout the race weekend, also in comparison with the other Mercedes-AMG GT3s. Qualifying was a real highlight, of course.”
“Unfortunately, not everything went for us in the race, but we were still fast again. We can build on that,” hopes the youngster. “You have to take the small successes with you, now we just have to make sure that we catch the tyre pressures next time. “
“Unfortunately, the full-course yellow came at an unfortunate time for David, which cost him a few positions”, Winward team boss Christian Hohenadel also has to admit. “And unfortunately we were a bit off with the air pressure in the second stint for both cars. But that’s the way it is with poker – sometimes the hand is right, sometimes not. Still, it was a strong weekend for us, big compliments to the whole team!”
Mercedes collision on Saturday
On Saturday, Schumacher had to retire from his race after a collision with fellow Mercedes driver Luca Stolz (HRT). “The start and the first laps went very well, I moved up a few positions,” Schumacher reported. “Unfortunately, it then came to this contact.”
“We had discussed internally beforehand that space would be left if a brand colleague had his nose next to his own car. That’s why I left it there,” explained the Mercedes driver. “Unfortunately, he didn’t leave me any room at all, he just pulled in. “
The race stewards saw Schumacher at fault for the incident, and he subsequently had to complete three penalty laps. “I am very angry about the penalty, which is not justified from my point of view.” The 21-year-old invokes the rule that “you have to leave space as soon as the car is at door level with the nose.” Schumacher: “That was the case!”
How Stolz assesses the situation? “Racing accident I would say”. “It was funny: I thought I was over. Then I did get hit and it spun me around.” From the car, he said, he had the impression of being innocent, but he wanted to look at the video footage again.
There was a discussion between the Mercedes drivers on Saturday evening. “There is no bad blood between us,” says the Austrian-born driver. “But it cost us the race at the end of the day, unfortunately, and maybe also important points.” At least Schumacher was able to do some damage limitation on Sunday.