Arjun Maini was the first Indian to take a DTM pole in Spielberg and is having by far his best season: the role the head of the AMG hotspur played in this
Indian ex-Formula 2 driver Arjun Maini is experiencing a breakthrough this year in his fourth DTM season: last weekend in Spielberg, the HRT driver became the first Indian to take a DTM pole – the only one for Mercedes-AMG in the season so far, aside from Maro Engel’s successful tyre gamble at the Nürburgring. He also scored two further podium finishes after the Norisring.
From his entourage, you can hear that the speed was always there, but Maini still had a lot of mental catching up to do, which he now confirms himself. “I could never really show my pace in the DTM because it’s so difficult to get through the field. My biggest weakness was qualifying, but I’ve got that under control this year,”
“More than driving itself, it was a mental thing. I always made a lot of mistakes in qualifying, I just couldn’t get the lap right,“ says the man from Bangalore. ‘But the theoretical sectors were fine.’
So far in the 2024 season, Maini has been
He used to “always push the Mercedes-AMG GT3 a bit too hard in qualifying”. But now he has understood “how the car has to be driven in qualifying, because I used to be much more aggressive with the GT car”. His progress was evident in the first six qualifying sessions of the season, in which Maini was the best Mercedes-AMG driver four times – and only started outside the top five once.
So far, his record is outstanding: in 14 qualifying sessions, he has finished in the top eight ten times – more than any other Mercedes-AMG driver. What’s more, he is eighth in the overall standings, with one point and one podium finish more than his established teammate Luca Stolz.
Brother of billiards champion as mental coach
The mental strength he has gained has played a major role in this. “At the beginning of the year, I was in such a good rhythm that I didn’t think too much about qualifying,” he says. “Everything just happens by itself.”
But when you “start to think a little bit about what you’re doing and you’re no longer sure, then having that self-confidence makes a big difference,” he says. You also have to “have everything come together” around you, because the field is so close.
Maini has been working with Indian mental trainer Shri Advani for years. He is the brother of billiards champion Pankaj Advani, who coaches him online. But Maini’s environment also seems to play a major role in his upward trend.
Curse penalty has an effect on hotspur
Because this season the racer has an experienced new race engineer in Marius Avemarg, who previously managed the technical department at Toksport WRT. Internally, the following rule applies: Maini has to pay 500 euros every time he explodes on the radio, as he often did in the past. Incidentally, the money does not go to the team, but to his crew.
Instead of losing focus and important positions, he no longer lets setbacks throw him off track so easily. “He’s always had the skills, but it never really came together,”
“I think the change of scenery with his new engineer has done him good. The two work very well together. He also gives him a lot of confidence – and so it’s a win-win situation.”
Maini is ‘basically part of the furniture’ at HRT
Fritz, who has been working with Maini since 2022, sees his protégé’s achievements as confirmation that he was right to take him on: “I said back in the winter that I saw something in him. He is paying that back right now. He is doing very well mentally. He was also very strong on the Nordschleife in the 24-hour race. He feels comfortable in the car and with us.”
Maini now lives near Cologne and is therefore at the HRT workshop near the Nürburgring more often than almost any other driver. He also competes in significantly more races for HRT than his teammate Stolz, including the DTM, the Nürburgring 24 Hours, numerous NLS races, the GT World Challenge Europe and other events. “He’s actually part of the furniture,” smiles Fritz.
