The top 10 DTM drivers of 2009

1. Gary Paffett

HWA-Mercedes
Mercedes C-class
DTM starts: 10
Poles: 0
Wins: 4
Championship position: 2nd

The stats say it all really. Four wins from 10, when no-one else could manage more than two. The fact that two of those wins came when the 2009-spec Mercedes were all running 10kg heavier than the Audis is another remarkable achievement, as the 2005 champion showed this year that he's still got it on his return to a top car.

Were it not for problems in qualifying at Hockenheim and the Nurburgring, which in turn led to first lap incidents, he could have had a second title.

2. Timo Scheider

Audi Team Abt Sportline
Audi A4
DTM starts: 10
Poles: 1
Wins: 2
Championship position: 1st

Unlike 2008, Scheider won this title through playing the consistency card rather than dominating the early part of the season. He certainly had some luck along the way (like suffering a tyre failure just before the pit entrance at Dijon), but perhaps that was a reward for his consistency.

After solving his issues with the 2009 A4 at a test in the summer, he went on to take five top two finishes from the final six races. The form of a champion.

3. Paul di Resta

HWA-Mercedes
Mercedes C-class
DTM starts: 10
Poles: 1
Wins: 1
Championship position: 3rd

Di Resta was expected to build on his runner-up campaign from 2008, but a scrappy start to the season left him with too much to do once he got back into his stride. A lack of pace from the C-class at Hockenheim meant he couldn't challenge there, while Audi's strategy at Lausitz was centred around preventing him from leapfrogging Mattias Ekstrom.

Parc ferme dramas held him back at Norisring, but once Mercedes got over its summer slump and the car was competitive, di Resta proved that he is still every bit as good as he was in '08.

4. Jamie Green

Persson Motorsport-Mercedes
Mercedes C-class
DTM starts: 10
Poles: 0
Wins: 1
Championship position: 7th

Being dropped from the HWA-Mercedes line-up was a bit of a sucker punch for Green, but he dealt with it perfectly. His motivation was never in question, and he dragged all he could out of his 2008 car.

His Norisring win was well-deserved, and proved that he's got what it takes to get tough when he has to. If he can get back into a new car, he might return to the HWA fold a better driver than when he left it.

5. Mattias Ekstrom

Audi Team Abt Sportline
Audi A4
DTM starts: 10
Poles: 3
Wins: 0
Championship position: 5th

After dominating the Hockenheim opener before his puncture, Ekstrom looked a sure thing for the title. But that speed never quite came back, and as Audi developed the car before the mid-season freeze, Ekstrom struggled to get it to his liking.

He was back up the front by the end of the year, but had no points to show for it thanks to a puncture at Dijon, and a holed radiator after his thrilling early scrap with Paffett at Hockenheim.

6. Bruno Spengler

HWA-Mercedes
Mercedes C-class
DTM starts: 10
Poles: 1
Wins: 0
Championship position: 4th

Spengler was once the lead man at HWA, but he has since been relieved of that role by Paffett and di Resta. His 2009 form was stronger than the results suggested though, but he often struggled to turn good qualifying performances into as many points as he could have on Sundays.

7. Oliver Jarvis

Audi Sport Team Phoenix
Audi A4
DTM starts: 10
Poles: 1
Wins: 0
Championship position: 9th

One of the main sub-stories of 2009 was the battle between the Audi young guns who are all hoping to get the nod to replace Tom Kristensen at Abt Sportsline. Jarvis was the standout candidate, and he developed well after a rookie campaign where he showed flashes of speed. His pole lap at Zandvoort (the first for anyone in a year-old car) was also a great achievement.

8. Martyn Tomczyk

Audi Team Abt Sportline
Audi A4
DTM starts: 10
Poles: 1
Wins: 1
Championship position: 6th

After some disastrous luck at the start of the season, Tomczyk was out of the title hunt already by June. But he kept his head up well, and at one point during the middle of the season was the highest-scoring driver of anyone. Shortly after that it was time to play the team game though, which he was more than happy to do.

9. Tom Kristensen

Audi Team Abt Sportline
Audi A4
DTM starts: 10
Poles: 2
Wins: 1
Championship position: 8th

There was an element of fairytale about Kristensen's season-opening victory at Hockenheim. Not only had it come two days after he announced that he would retire from the DTM at the end of the year, but it was also his first win since that horror crash where he suffered serious head injuries just two years earlier.

The eight-time Le Mans winner proved he still had the speed with plenty of strong qualifying performances, but luck was rarely on his side in the races.

10. Maro Engel

Mucke Motorsport-Mercedes
Mercedes C-class
DTM starts: 10
Poles: 0
Wins: 0
Championship position: 12th

It was hard to see where Jamie Green's main threat from the 2008-spec Mercedes camp was going to come from, but former British F3 racer Engel put up a good fight when he could. He often had the speed to at least give Green something to think about, and now just needs the experience to go with it.