The separation from Project 1 leaves Schubert as the only BMW team in the DTM: What this means for former champion Marco Wittmann, who needs a new home
How is BMW positioning itself for the upcoming DTM season? As the DTM collaboration with the Project 1 team will end after just one season and the team is likely to switch brands to McLaren, former champions Schubert will be the only BMW team remaining
Efforts to find a successor candidate for Hans-Bernd Kamps’ team who meets BMW’s requirements have apparently not been successful so far. Although Rosberg was considered a potential candidate, the ex-Audi squad will not return to the DTM in 2024 unless a miracle happens.
The Munich team therefore has a problem: with Sheldon van der Linde, Rene Rast and Marco Wittmann, they have three top DTM drivers, or “our six DTM titles”, as Head of Motorsport Andreas Roos proudly puts it. However, Schubert had actually only planned to field two BMW M4 GT3s
Third Schubert car as the only solution?
It is an open secret that van der Linde, who became champion with Schubert in 2022, and three-time DTM champion Rast will remain with the team from Oschersleben. That leaves Wittmann as the big question mark.
After two disappointing DTM years with Walkenhorst and Project 1, during which he was barely able to test, the 34-year-old Franconian demanded “the same conditions” from BMW for the coming season as his Schubert works driver colleagues
Why three-car teams are so expensive
Therefore, the only option is for Schubert’s team to field a third car. However, this is primarily a financial question, as Torsten Schubert has already invested heavily in the DTM project in recent years, enabling the team to establish itself as a top BMW team straight away.
However, a third car would further increase the costs: Schubert would need a second pit facility and a second crew to ensure that none of the three top drivers are at a strategic disadvantage
Is the fact that Schaeffler is not only a BMW partner in the DTM, but also supports Wittmann personally, a guarantee that he will remain in the DTM, as is often speculated? Not necessarily, because the contractual situation between the automotive and industrial supplier from Herzogenaurach and BMW for the 2024 DTM season is currently unclear.
What is Wittmann’s partner Schaeffler doing?
Whether there will also be a “Green Machine” – as Wittmann’s Schaeffler-designed racing car is called – in 2024 will presumably also depend on the Fürth-based driver’s prospects of success. With Schubert, these are likely to be guaranteed
Team boss Torsten Schubert gave no information shortly before Christmas 2023 when asked whether his team would field a third car in the DTM in 2024, referring to the pending official announcement.
And Wittmann, who was champion in 2014 and 2016, still has a score to settle with the DTM. So there are justified hopes that Schubert will actually be competing with a BMW squad of three DTM champions in 2024. Industry insiders also assume this
