Mercedes withdraw Barcelona appeals

Both drivers were fined and given 10-place grid penalties for the season finale at Hockenheim, as they were considered responsible for their respective accidents with Audi drivers Martin Tomczyk and Mattias Ekstrom.

Mercedes were upset by the decisions of the stewards, but they have decided to withdraw their appeals as they could not be heard before the championship decider.

Because last weekend's events took place in Spain, the appeal must be heard by the Spanish motorsport authority, which could not guarantee a hearing before October 14.

Because Mercedes had appealed, Hakkinen and la Rosa would have been able to start the race from wherever they qualified, but the results of the title decider would remain provisional.

"The two teams (HWA and Mucke Motorsport) opted for setting their appeals aside for the good of the sport," a statement on the DTM website said.

"In the case of the respective season finale results, this could have resulted in the situation that no champion could have been celebrated at Hockenheim."

Mercedes-Benz motorsport boss Norbert Haug said at the weekend that he did not agree with the penalties.

"I think the decisions were not right," he told autosport.com. "The verdicts say avoidable accidents, but we need consistent judgements.

"Mika could not avoid the accident as Tomczyk drove into him, and an overly aggressive Ekstrom did not leave any room for la Rosa."