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luglio 20, 2016 - Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport

Tales from the paddock: Formula 1, DTM and AMG Customer Sports

Comunicato Stampa disponibile solo in lingua originale. 

After the race weekend at Zandvoort, the #dtm takes a short summer break, while Formula 1 prepares for back-to-back races in Hungary and Germany.

  • This is what happened: Weekend’s results & facts
  • News from the #mercedesamg motorsport teams
  • Three questions for Ulrich Fritz
  • Social media news: What’s new online?
  • This week’s important dates and events

 

What happened: Results & facts

  • DTM: Three podium finishes for the #mercedesamg #dtm Team at Zandvoort. Robert Wickens wins the first race; Christian Vietoris (P3 in the first race) and Gary Paffett (P2 in the second race) also make it onto the podium.
  • 24H Circuit Paul Ricard: Two podiums for AMG Customer Sports Teams: RAM #racing take the runner-up spot in a #mercedesamg GT3 (Goethe / Hall / Brown / Campbell-Walter) while Hofor #racing finish third in an SLS AMG GT3 (Eggimann / Frankenhout / Heyer / Kroll / Kroll).

News snippets

Summer break ahead: Four races in five weeks for the Silver Arrows – the pace is really hotting up in the month of July. Before the team members take their well-deserved summer break in early August, they have back-to-back races in Hungary and Germany. In a break with tradition since 2009, the last race before the start of the summer recess will this time be hosted by Hockenheim rather than Budapest. “It feels strange to be going to Budapest without preparing for a well-earned rest afterwards,” says Paddy Lowe semi-jocularly. Hungary is the only race on the regular itinerary that the team has not yet won in the V6 Hybrid Formula One era. The most recent Silver Arrows victory at the Hungaroring came three years ago in 2013 when Lewis Hamilton not only claimed his fourth win in Budapest but also his first in a works Silver Arrow.

Like having a seat on the pit wall: Since the British Grand Prix, fans and media have been allowed greater insight into the decision-making processes behind the scenes during the race. The Pure Pit Wall provides them with inside information straight from the beating heart of the team. Users can follow the #racing action and make their own strategic judgements. These are based on factors such as the choice of tyre compound, the degree of tyre degradation, the time taken for a pit stop, the fastest laps, safety car deployments and much more besides. Try it for yourself by visiting http://purefla.sh/29tagiO. We’d be fascinated to hear your opinion.

Safety car on the prom: Summer, sun and a cool track. For drivers and fans alike, Zandvoort counts as one of the favourite circuits on the calendar. Ahead of the fifth race weekend of the season, some of the #dtm drivers went for a little excursion, driving in convoy behind the safety car from the town centre to the seaside promenade. Robert Wickens, Christian Vietoris and Lucas Auer clearly enjoyed the experience just as much as the fans, posing for selfies and signing autographs along the route.

Watch video: www.facebook.com/mercedesamgdtm/videos/1758888644358769/

New livery: Maximilian Götz’s number 84 #mercedesamg C 63 #dtm had a new paint job for the Zandvoort weekend. It had previously displayed the message ‘Vive La Mannschaft’ in homage to the German EURO 2016 squad. The new slogan for the Netherlands was ‘130 Jahre Automobil’. 130 years ago (29th January 1886, to be precise), Carl Benz went to the Imperial Patent Office in Berlin and registered the most important patent of the industrial age for a “Motorwagen mit Gasmotorenbetrieb” (motorised vehicle with gas-powered engine). This was the original design from which all subsequent versions in the next century would flow.

Three questions for Ulrich Fritz

Uli, more than half of the season is now over after the race weekend in Zandvoort. What conclusions have you reached in general?

Ulrich Fritz: “I think that the first half of the season was an emotional roller-coaster. One thing is definitely certain, though, our new car is always good for a surprise – both in a positive way as just now in Zandvoort and in a not so good way like at Spielberg. We are, however, delighted that our drivers have done a good job so far and that in Robert and Paul and maybe even Gary and Chris, we have four drivers, who can fight for the championship. One of the emotional highlights has to be seeing Mücke Motorsport and Lucas Auer take their maiden #dtm victory at the Lausitzring. The Norisring weekend and the Sunday at Zandvoort stick in the memory in a negative way, even though we lost vital points in the battle for the title for entirely different reasons in the three races. It will certainly take a good few days to get over Zandvoort.”

What do you think of the drivers’ demeanour in the media and what they’ve been saying? Their general tone is very different to earlier. Do you agree with what’s going on at the moment?

Ulrich Fritz: “Well, it’s like this. You cannot stand up in front of the guys before the start of the season and tell them that they can publicly express their opinions and are welcome to even show a bit of an edge but then start back-pedalling at the first sign of trouble. That not only makes you look like you can’t be trusted but also unsettles the drivers. They then no longer know how to behave. I’ve already said at the Norisring that Chris will not get the Nobel prize from me for what he said about Eki, but I can also understand why he reacted so vehemently. And when you look later at the comments on social media, then you can also see how positively people respond to a driver so openly giving vent to his emotional state. We all want to see human beings and not robots at the wheel.”

With regard to the standings, what goals have you identified as a team for the season at this half-way stage?

Ulrich Fritz: “There can only be one goal, to become champions. If the Gods had been a bit more on our side in the races, then Rob would still be at the top of the table. However, Marco Wittmann seems to have a better connection with the Good Lord at the moment, but the tide can quickly turn, as we’ve seen in the season so far. Pascal was 17 points down on the leader at this time last year and yet won the championship by 19 points. Robert is currently 22 points behind Marco. All is not yet lost. I think that it won’t be until the final two race weekends that the number of favourites is narrowed down to four or five drivers. I hope that we’ll still have two or three irons in the fire at that point. In any case, we will definitely continue to push.”

Social Media News

AUTOBALL! Who will score first? In the run-up to the 2016 German Grand Prix, current world championship leader Nico Rosberg has challenged fellow German Formula 1 drivers Nico Hülkenberg and Pascal Wehrlein to a drift contest. However, not just any drift contest but – Autoball! Which of the three #f1 stars will get the ball in the net first?

Watch video clip: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UNYJ85XfEI

The #f1 pit stop explained: It took just 2.33 seconds before Lewis Hamilton was sent on his way to wrap up a home victory at Silverstone – and also to claim the fastest pit stop of the race. But what makes the perfect pit stop? Silver Arrows Sporting Director Ron Meadows describes the preparations made by the pit crew and explains the procedures they run through.

Watch video clip: www.youtube.com/watch?v=OO5OObiYWac

Halftime in the 2016 #dtm: The fifth race weekend at Zandvoort marked the halfway point in the 2016 #dtm season. As the Mercedes AMG #dtm Team embarks on its short summer break before returning to action at the Moscow Raceway, the drivers look back on the most emotional moments of the first half of the season.

Watch video clip: www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbxZPfYE2RQ

Upcoming events & dates

Date

Event

Thursday 21/07/2016

Formula 1: 2016 Hungarian Grand Prix– Media Day

Friday 22/07/2016

Formula 1: 2016 Hungarian Grand Prix – FP1 / FP2

Saturday 23/07/2016

Formula 1: 2016 Hungarian Grand Prix – FP3 / Qualifying

ADAC GT Masters: Spielberg – Race 1

International GT Open: Silverstone – Race 1

Sunday 24/07/2016

Formula 1: 2016 Hungarian Grand Prix – Race

ADAC GT Masters: Spielberg – Race 2

International GT Open: Silverstone – Race 2

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