Dear readers,
Many said before the Nürburgring weekend that Maro Engel just had to pick up the DTM title. Due to Mirko Bortolotti’s disqualification, the lead of the Mercedes-AMG veteran over challenger Nicki Thiim grew from 21 to 25 points, which six races before the end meant an advantage of one win. And Engel, whose consistency is well known anyway, is proving to be in outstanding form this year.
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But then, of all places, lightning struck him in the Eifel, where just a few months earlier he skillfully challenged Max Verstappen and won the 24-hour race! After the start, Engel took out his AMG teammate Lucas Auer in the second corner, who is also still fighting for the title.
Auer’s Landgraf Mercedes immediately stopped, Engel limped back to the pits with a broken splitter and a front right tire damage and had to retire. With his action, he put the AMG brand, which has been chasing a driver title in the DTM since 2021, teammate Auer, his Winward team, but above all himself in a very unfavorable position.
Engel makes arch-enemy Preining strong with AMG crash
Because Engel will turn 41 in ten days. Who knows how many chances the Monaco resident will still get in his career to realize the big dream of the DTM title? This year the signs are perfect – and in two years, according to plan, the GT3 successor from Mercedes-AMG will come. Lamborghini is currently experiencing what a model change can mean.
Through the internal brand crash, Engel has made arch-enemy Thomas Preining strong. Apparently, there has been an ice age between the ambitious Austrian and Engel for almost five years. And now Preining is only one point behind him in the overall standings with four races to go. The “Grello” driver has gotten a taste for blood since his retirement threat at the Norisring, as a win, a second place, and two third places prove.
Next up is the Sachsenring, where Porsche dominated last year. Engel will be penalized by the race stewards with a three-place grid drop for the collision with Auer – on a track where overtaking is hardly possible. Not exactly a desired scenario mentally, especially since the pressure is already enormous.
Was Engel overmotivated?
But was Engel overmotivated on Sunday during the fateful action? Quite possible, as the start from fifth place was not quite optimal – and the Winward driver initially had to defend his position against the later winner Marco Wittmann, who was to his left.
It can be ruled out that he deliberately rammed Auer so that Mercedes-AMG would have to focus on him in the title fight. Because Engel and Auer, who is 24 points behind his teammate, share a car in the GT World Challenge Europe and have been a duo for years. Also: What would Engel gain from that? His car was also out of the race after the crash.
It looks like the AMG driver misjudged the grip with the still cold tires on the approach to the second corner. His car understeered – and he slid into Auer’s Landgraf Mercedes, which came from the right on a different line.
AMG strength on Sunday: Did Engel miss a penalty kick?
Why does Engel’s first retirement in a year hurt even more? Because of the excellent starting position before the race. After the very strong drive on Saturday with 20 kilograms of success ballast to sixth place directly behind Auer, Engel’s car was a whopping 40 kilograms lighter in the Sunday race because the Balance of Performance (BoP) was also changed! That’s four tenths per lap.
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And how fast the Mercedes-AMG GT3 was on Sunday was proven by Winward teammate Jules Gounon with the lap record in qualifying and Landgraf underdog Tom Kalender with second place in the race. So did Engel already have a penalty kick in the title fight? A podium place would certainly have been possible.
Even though Engel apologized and admitted the mistake, the damage is now done. Since Engel’s win at the season opener on the AMG fear track Red Bull Ring, it seems that 2026 could be the year of Mercedes-AMG.
Why AMG actually has to win the title this year
While many manufacturers brought Evo packages or new cars, the brand with the star was sorted out from the start with the old Mercedes-AMG GT3. As the only brand, it has had two irons in the fire in the title fight for months. The BoP this season has been consistently favorable for the Mercedes-AMG GT3 with few exceptions.
And the new DTM special tire, which comes up to temperature a bit faster than its predecessor, harmonizes well with the tire-conserving car. And apparently also with Engel, because with his gentle driving style, the son of a fashion designer did not always bring enough energy into the DHG tire from Pirelli used in the DTM until 2025.
This is a possible explanation for why Engel has completely shed his previous qualifying weakness in the DTM this year. The other explanation? Engel works as hard as hardly any other driver – and studied the data intensively in winter together with his Portuguese race engineer Mauricio Moreira to improve. “We are witnessing the best Maro of all time,” an expert from the AMG environment is convinced.
Do tips from buddy Nico Rosberg help?
But now Engel faces the ultimate acid test. In the year of his great triumphs in Bathurst and especially on the Nürburgring Nordschleife, he must get the DTM faux pas out of his head as quickly as possible. In two weeks, he will be back in the Winward Mercedes at the Nürburgring – and will share the car in the GT World Challenge Europe with none other than Auer.
A good opportunity to leave the events behind and realign. Because in the DTM, the ultimate final boss awaits with Preining and Manthey. The Porsche top team usually still has an ace up its sleeve when it comes to the crunch. AMG already had to painfully experience this last year in the defeat against Ayhancan Güven.
“Maro has become more relaxed this year, but at the same time more focused,” an Engel expert notices. A good combination in the current situation. And maybe a call to buddy Nico Rosberg, who knows from his Formula 1 title against Lewis Hamilton how to handle such challenges, will help too.
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