DTM
The New Zealander leads the DTM standings coming into the penultimate racing weekend, but he faces a serious challenge from 2016 champion Marco Wittmann.
Even if the temperatures are distinctly autumnal, we're expecting the two hottest weekends of the DTM season. In Hockenheim this weekend and the following week at the Norisring in Nuremberg, the first champion of DTM's new GT3 era will be crowned.
With a 10-point advantage over BMW driver Marco Wittmann, Red Bull Junior Team driver Liam Lawson is in pole position heading into the Autodrom Baden-Württemberg, but that's a slim lead when you consider drivers can score 28 points per race, including qualifying.
Lawson's Red Bull AF Corse team-mate, Scuderia AlphaTauri's Alex Albon, is sixth overall and is eager to make a step or two forward, with fifth-placed Philip Ellis in his sights.
19-year-old New Zealander Lawson comes to Hockenheim on the crest of a wave. After a frustrating weekend that saw him leave the Nürburgring with zero points, he scored points in every qualifying at the Red Bull Ring and Assen, won two races and finished second in another two (excluding guest drivers who aren't permitted to score points overall). Lawson aims to become the third DTM champion in Red Bull colours after Mattias Ekström (2004 and 2007) and his current rival Wittmann (2016).
43-year-old Swede Ekström was a front-runner in DTM for a decade and a half. Between 2002 and 2017, he won 23 races with Abt-Audi. He then went on to become World RX champion in 2016 and runner-up the following season.
And what does he think of the new era of DTM? "Due to my racing commitments in electric touring cars and in Extreme E, I don't usually get to watch the races, but I check out the highlights. It's cool that many young drivers get a chance now and prove their competitiveness. It reminds me of my younger years in DTM, which I considered a racing driver's paradise."
While he acknowledges the necessity of the handicapping BoP system (balance of performance), Ekström doesn't like it very much: "Maybe there's a better solution to be found." But he agrees that it's unavoidable that after the exit of the manufacturers the series is run with privateer teams: "Under the circumstances, that's probably the only solution."
Ekström's favourite drivers are, of course, the ones who are leading the series right now. "Liam, Marco, Kelvin van der Linde and Max Götz are all professionals who can manage to become champion. It will be a very interesting four-way battle," Ekström says, because it will be decided between an inexperienced rookie, a proven champion and two dedicated GT3 specialists.
Ekström himself has fond memories of Hockenheim – he won here four times. Liam Lawson may be hopeful this weekend: he's leading the rookie standings by a distance, but his aim is to win the championship outright and at the earliest opportunity. And if the Ferrari driver succeeds, he'll be the first DTM champion to drive an Italian car since Nicola Larini in 1993 for Alfa Romeo.
DTM Championship Standings (after six rounds)
- Liam Lawson (NZL), Red Bull AF Corse, Ferrari – 175 points
- Marco Wittmann (GER), Walkenhorst Racing, BMW – 165
- Kelvin van der Linde (RSA), Team Abt Sports, Audi – 160
- Maximilian Götz (GER), Mercedes-AMG Team HRT, Mercedes – 155
- Philip Ellis (SUI), Mercedes-AMG Team Winward, Mercedes – 109
- Alex Albon (THA), Red Bull AF Corse, Ferrari – 104