Which drivers are the hottest candidates for a DTM cockpit in the Ford Mustang GT3 and what is the basic requirement of the HRT team when choosing a driver
Which drivers will be at the wheel of the Ford Mustang GT3 in the DTM after the spectacular HRT brand change in 2025? HRT Team Principal Ulrich Fritz has already announced that the team would like to draw on “the existing Ford driver pool” when making their decision. And with former champion Mike Rockenfeller and ex-Porsche driver Dennis Olsen, there are even two drivers with DTM history.
The Norwegian, in particular, who competed for SSR Performance in the DTM in 2022, celebrated a victory and was a teammate of champion Thomas Preining at Manthey EMA last year,
Because the 28-year-old not only has experience with the unheated tires in the DTM, but was also nominated by Ford in the US IMSA sports car series only for the endurance races in which a third driver is required. This points to a racing program in Europe.
Why it doesn’t look like Rockenfeller will be making a comeback
Rockenfeller’s chances of a DTM comeback, on the other hand, are limited because the long-standing Audi works driver will be at the wheel of one of the two Ford Mustang GT3s in all IMSA races. He shares the cockpit with Andy Priaulx’s 23-year-old son Sebastian Priaulx, while the other car is driven by ex-Audi drivers Christopher Mies and Frederic Vervisch.
The IMSA calendar has an overlap with the DTM calendar with the race weekend in Virginia at the end of August, where only the GT cars will be in action, and the DTM will be racing at the same time at the Sachsenring.
Apart from that, Arjun Maini is being considered as a candidate, because the Indian has developed excellently in his fourth year with Mercedes-AMG in the DTM and his third year with HRT, and has often been the strongest driver for the brand with the star, especially in qualifying. In addition, his Mercedes-AMG contract “expires this year”,
At least one driver with DTM experience as a condition
“We are currently evaluating the driver questions and deciding together with Ford,”
“I think both names are interesting for us,” replies the former Mercedes-AMG DTM head. “I don’t need to hide anything. Both have DTM experience. We have always said that we will only do the program if at least one of the people has DTM experience.”
He also comes out as a ‘Maini fan’. However, it is uncertain whether the 26-year-old Indian, who took his first DTM pole and stood on the podium three times in 2024, is even available.
“Surely it would be nice if there was a solution, because we worked together for three years,” he says. “But it also has to be said that he owes a lot to AMG and is working with AMG. In the end, this is an issue that has to be resolved between Ford, Maini and AMG.”
