In the last race of the 2026 season of the DTM, held in Hockenheim, Maro Engel achieved victory, but the title went to Thomas Preining. The Manthey Porsche driver, who finished third, accumulated the necessary points to be crowned champion for the second time, after his previous victory in 2023.
Preining commented on the decision to fight for the title: ‘It was a horrendous day, especially due to the two-hour wait before the race. The most pleasant thing is having managed to complete a clean race without accidents, and I am very proud of the team.’
Engel, on his part, expressed his satisfaction, despite not winning the title: ‘I gave everything I could this weekend and we can feel proud of what we achieved. It was a fantastic race, thanks to the team and Mercedes-AMG.’
With this race, Engel solidified his position as runner-up of the 2026 season, emphasizing that being champion is not the only goal, but it is always important to be in the title fight. Preining’s teammate, Ricardo Feller, finished second and acknowledges that his most direct competition was his own teammate.
The Land Porsche driver, Bastian Buus, who started from pole, finished in fourth place. Following him in fifth position was Ben Dorr with his Dorr McLaren. Matteo Cairoli crossed the finish line sixth with the Emil Frey Ferrari, followed by Marco Wittmann, who was also vying for the title but could not do more in the decisive race.
Wittmann said that despite their efforts, the team did not measure up to the stronger opponents: ‘We fought until the end, and we didn’t have enough options to do anything.’
The race began with Preining pressuring Engel. The Austrian driver made a good start, moving from seventh to third position quickly. Meanwhile, Engel was attempting to close the head, overtaking Buus in a risky but justified move that led him to the lead.
Despite the light rain before the second pit stop, this did not influence the race. Preining managed the situation well, reaching the end without risks and guaranteeing the championship victory for his team, Manthey, which also won the team standings.
The Mercedes-AMG teams secured the manufacturers’ title, while Porsche and BMW completed the podium in this ranking. The DTM season now enters a break period, with the next race scheduled between April 23 and 25, 2027 at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
SourceID: SRC_c0bc6009abb4b1906eab6557f7626ff64dafbbd0