How the DTM's shambolic finale poses awkward future questions

Team orders in motorsport never sit well with fans. So when Mercedes orchestrated a controversial switchover between its drivers in the DTM finale at the Norisring, it came as no surprise that it was met with widespread outrage.

Faced with the prospect of lead Mercedes driver Maximilian Gotz losing the drivers’ title by seven points to Red Bull Ferrari driver Liam Lawson, the Stuttgart manufacturer instructed both race leader Lucas Auer and his Winward team-mate Philip Ellis to slow down with just over a handful of laps to go. Team HRT's Gotz eased past both drivers to take the full 25 points for victory and snatch the title from the grasp of a helpless Lawson - his car badly hobbled by first corner contact - much to the dismay of those watching the scenes unfold live.

AF Corse's DTM chief Ron Riechert had more cause than most for dismay, but his words struck a chord, labelling the events "a disgrace for the sport". 

This wasn’t the first time team orders were seen in action in the new-look DTM as both the Abt Audi and AF Corse-run Red Bull squads have been guilty of using the regulations to prioritise their leading drivers in 2021. At Assen, Alex Albon handed track position to team-mate Lawson by pitting a lap later on an undercut-friendly track, while Mike Rockenfeller was often seen holding off rivals on old tyres to assist the title bid of Kelvin van der Linde.

But Mercedes took team orders to the extreme at the Norisring, both in terms of execution and its impact on the championship. Not only did the sight of Auer slowing down by 12 seconds make for terrible viewing, it also means that Gotz’s title success won’t be seen as legitimate by some - regardless of the superb job he’s done on his return to the series.

The explanation Mercedes offered for its tactics was passable at best, as it insisted it had to capitalise on the opportunity handed to it by van der Linde and Lawson at the start of the race.

Podium: Race winner and Champion Maximilian Götz, Haupt Racing Team

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

But of more significance was the justification for asking Auer and Ellis - who had a five-second time penalty hanging over him, but still had a strong change of finishing second given his handy gap to Gotz - to give up a potential Winward 1-2 finish and clear the path for the rival HRT squad to benefit.

It should also be noted that, after being nerfed wide as another innocent casualty of van der Linde's over-aggressive first corner move on Lawson, Nick Cassidy was charging back through the field on fresh tyres and could have challenged Gotz - had it not been for some questionable defensive tactics from the bevvy of Mercedes allies, with Ellis particularly aggressive in his defence.

Customer racing boss Thomas Jager argued that Mercedes offers better technical support to its teams than other manufacturers - and is also known to be providing a handsome financial package for each of the seven cars in the series. Therefore, he said Winward readily put its individual interests aside to follow Mercedes' “one-team” approach.

Such blatant use of team orders never did DTM any favours in the past, but the series is now at a point where it cannot afford to lose any more fans

However, it must be pointed out that this philosophy directly clashes with what the series’ new era is about. After the demise of the Class One era, the DTM no longer wanted to be so reliant on manufacturers that their board of directors could put the series on the brink of collapse again.

When overhauling the series from top to bottom, ITR chief Gerhard Berger made it clear in no uncertain terms that the series’ GT3 formula will be about individual teams working independently of manufacturers. This didn’t mean that manufacturers wouldn’t be allowed to offer technical or financial support, but teams will be required to raise the budget on their own through sponsors and/or drivers signings.

Not only is Mercedes’ involvement on the edge when it comes to the DNA of the ‘new DTM’, the fact that it can exert such control over its teams also raises alarm bells about the direction the series is headed in the near future. That begs the question, 'Is the new-look DTM really that different from its previous version?'

After all, team orders have been an accepted part of the DTM for much of its history, deemed essential by the manufacturers who poured millions of dollars into the series every year.

Orchestrated swaps have been part of the fabric in the DTM for years, considered part and parcel of manufacturer involvement

Photo by: James Gasperotti / Motorsport Images

Until 2018, the final year of Mercedes' last involvement, it was common for Audi, Mercedes and BMW to throw all their weight behind one driver to the point that others had to cede position whenever they were set to take points away from the favoured driver.

This approach often led to some bizarre end-of-race shuffling, and to some regrettable heat of the moment calls - such as the infamous "push him out" radio message issued to Timo Scheider by then-Audi Motorsport boss Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich at the Red Bull Ring in 2015 that resulted in Mercedes title challenger Pascal Wehrlein being unceremoniously taken out.

Rifts during this era, and during the years before BMW's 2012 arrival it when Audi and Mercedes filled the grid, were frequent. Audi infamously withdrew all of its remaining cars mid-race at the Circuit de Catalunya in 2007 after its leading contenders were involved in collisions with Mercedes runners.

Box office it may have been, but it wasn't entirely healthy for the sporting competition. In fact, such was the association of team orders with the DTM that when the V8 Supercars series in Australia was forced to ban teams from the same manufacturer from influencing race results, it came up with a new regulation that came to be known as the ‘DTM rule’.

Such blatant use of team orders never did DTM any favours in the past, but the series is now at a point where it cannot afford to lose any more fans. Its promoters worked hard over last winter to come up with a product that could appeal to DTM diehards, and strong crowds in races such as Assen suggested that the ‘new DTM’ was growing on fans.

The Norisring fiasco has not only undone that good work over the last 12 months, but the fallout from the race has also left it with an image problem to overcome - and credibility to earn back.

The anguish was not just about Mercedes manipulating the results for its own benefit but also the start clash where van der Linde escaped with only a five-second penalty for his conceived move on Lawson. The sanction was much less severe than the drive-through penalty Lawson was awarded for taking out both van der Linde and Rockenfeller at the Nurburgring in August, and ultimately put Gotz in a position where Mercedes could enforce team orders to help him with the title.

Start action, Nick Cassidy, AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo, Liam Lawson, AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo, Kelvin van der Linde, Abt Sportsline Audi R8 LMS GT3

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

To the DTM’s credit, Berger made it clear in the immediate aftermath of the race that he wasn’t a fan of team orders and would come up with ways to prevent a repeat of the Norisring scenario in 2022. It would be interesting to see if that would lead to team orders being outlawed, as was the case during the final years of the Class One rules cycle in 2020.

Chief among these, the DTM needs to be clear what kind of role manufacturers will play in this bold new era of the championship, as allowing extensive involvement risks opening up an arms race

But Sunday's race didn't just remind the DTM that it needs to bring back the ban on team orders. It also highlighted some important issues for Berger to solve as he seeks to build on what has otherwise been a successful first season with GT3 rules.

Chief among these, the DTM needs to be clear what kind of role manufacturers will play in this bold new era of the championship, as allowing extensive involvement risks opening up an arms race. We have all seen how that ends.

Some may feel that manufacturers should continue to play a key part, given the kind of fan base each brand has around the world. However, Japan’s Super GT series has shown that it is possible for teams to have a distinct identity and a fan following, independent of their parent manufacturer.

As the DTM heads into a long off-season break, Berger must think long and hard about what direction to take in 2022. Team orders will be one of the main topics of discussion, but is far from the only question that must be addressed if the 'new DTM' is to avoid being overshadowed by the shambolic scenes at the Norisring.

Daniel Juncadella, Mercedes-AMG Team GruppeM Racing Mercedes AMG GT3

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz