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Mercedes DTM drivers say B-spec car a step forward

Mercedes has definitely made a step forward with its B-spec DTM car, according to drivers Paul di Resta and Gary Paffett

Having run a new-specification car in the hands of Christian Vietoris at the penultimate round at Zandvoort last month, Mercedes decided to give all seven drivers updated hardware for the season finale at Hockenheim.

The new car, which features heavily-revised aero amongst other changes, took di Resta to fourth place, while Paffett scored a point with 10th.

Pascal Wehrlein was also in contention for a good haul of points, before a drive-through penalty for unsafe release ruined his race.

According to di Resta, the new car is clearly a step in the right direction.

"That was definitely the best weekend I've had in terms of constructive understanding of what the car is," he told AUTOSPORT.

"From the first session on we were competitive, and understood what we needed to do to make the car quicker.

"Unfortunately we didn't quite unleash the full potential in qualifying, but we were strong in the race. We were quick at times, we were the quickest car at times.

"Going away from here, it's rewarding. It's a very different car to the one I drove in May, and a very different team.

"We've gelled together and worked under extreme pressure to make it better. The new influences that people are bringing in, we're seeing the credit for it.

"The new season starts now."

Paffett added that their was still plenty of potential left to discover from the new package, particularly in terms of set-up.

"Maybe people were expecting us to be dominating here with the new car, but the reality is that all the new components we have, you have to get them set up properly," he said.

"Doing that in one race meeting is a big ask; the other guys have had a whole season to set their package up.

"If you put aero components on the car you get aero, but you need balance as well. So they're still work to do on suspension, geometry, all the things we can still change.

"We can certainly gain quite a lot over the winter in that.

"This weekend, for qualifying and the race, we went with a set-up that was consistent, but not ultimately as fast.

"You don't want to be doing one lap good, and then off track or struggling the next lap.

"But you can definitely feel the differences in the car. There's definitely a reason to be optimistic, but we still need to work hard."

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