How ‘mad’ the pressure was for champion Mirko Bortolotti after Saturday and how a night shift and a ‘bold’ set-up change turned things around
Mirko Bortolotti, who clinched his first DTM championship title on Sunday with pole and second place in Hockenheim (race report), was over the moon. Nevertheless, the 34-year-old Italian admits that the season finale was quite a challenge for him. “The pressure has definitely never been as high as it was in my entire life,” says Bortolotti, who was fighting for the DTM title for the third time and describes the strain as “insane”. “It was really a psychological game – not only on the track.”
Because Bortolotti traveled to Hockenheim with a 15-point lead, but after Kelvin van der Linde’s victory on Saturday, the SSR Lamborghini driver was suddenly two points behind going into the final day. “After the first day, it was all gone – and you’re no longer leading. The next day is the last in the championship – and you have to deliver,” he says, describing his situation.
“It looks easy, but I can tell you it’s not. We were challenged in every single element at the highest level of difficulty – and we nailed it. That’s something very special and unique.“
”The pressure didn’t just come from the sporting side”
After Saturday’s race, statements by Bortolotti caused a stir. He said that “certain drivers” had a “certain immunity status” and also criticized the balance of performance: “It is being kept artificially open.” On the day of his triumph, Bortolotti said: “The pressure came not only from the sporting side, but also from the media.”
The whole thing had been “pretty heated”, “as it should be. We want to put on a good show. We want the highest level of difficulty possible. The mind games were there, that’s for sure.” He had found it difficult to concentrate on himself and maintain his performance under these circumstances.
Night shift and “bold” set-up change as a foundation
Especially since he was not satisfied with his Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2 on Saturday – and only came in fifth, while Abt Audi rival Kelvin van der Linde took pole and victory. “I was not happy, had big problems especially in the second stint,” he explains.
The result was a late shift with his team. “I went to bed very late last night and sat with my engineers until 11am to really figure out what we should do,” Bortolotti explains. “We took a bold step and changed a fairly crucial part of the set-up.”
The background: “At the Red Bull Ring, we chose a different philosophy that worked well. And we wanted to try that here too.” But in the first race, the approach did not bring the desired success. “That’s why – and also based on our experience with the car from previous races – we decided to go back to the old base.”
Bortolotti pays tribute to title rivals van der Linde and Engel
Bortolotti did not want to reveal exactly which part it was, but it was a “mechanical” element that affects the balance. Going back to last year’s set-up was the “right call” because “qualifying was really good and really important,” said Bortolotti, referring to the pole position with which he laid the foundation for the title.
In conclusion, Bortolotti also paid tribute to his rivals. “All three of us probably deserved to win. I also have to say that nothing happened between us that was unfair or below the belt. I really appreciate that,“ said the Vienna-based Italian.
”They acted like the champions they are. At the same time, they try to play their game, which is normal. I played mine.”