Mercedes unveils 2023 DTM line-up as Gotz left out
Mercedes has announced the full driver line-up for its factory-supported programme in the DTM this year, but 2021 champion Maximilian Gotz will not be a part of its roster.
After the DTM revealed the 13 teams that will participate in the championship in its maiden season under the ADAC umbrella, Mercedes became the first manufacturer to unveil its full programme for the year on Thursday.
A total of six drivers will represent the German marque in 2023 across three teams, but Gotz is a very notable omission. He emerged victorious in the DTM’s first season under GT3 regulations in 2021 and was again a popular presence on the grid last year, even as he left the Haupt Racing Team to join Winward Racing.
However, Gotz will not return to the DTM for what would have been his fifth season in total, including two campaigns in the series’ previous era from 2015-16, with Winward downscaling to two cars from three.
The Anglo-German squad, however, has retained both Lucas Auer and David Schumacher, after Auer finished runner-up to BMW’s Sheldon van der Linde in the drivers’ standings last year.
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HRT will also continue with Luca Stolz and Arjun Maini in 2023, while Maro Engel moves across from GruppeM - which has quit DTM - to join Jusuf Owega at series newcomer Landgraf.
The team powered Raffaele Marciello to the 2022 GT Masters title and will be hoping to replicate that success in the DTM, which becomes the flagship series under the ADAC this year.
Lucas Auer, Mercedes-AMG Team WINWARD Mercedes-AMG GT3
Photo by: Alexander Trienitz
Mercedes is understood to have reduced its financial support in the DTM this year, as seen by the reduction in number of entries from eight to six.
However, it still remains one of the biggest spenders, having been impressed by the kind of returns it has offered since its switch to the more affordable GT3 cars.
“For the 2023 DTM season, we are putting a mix of experience and young talents on the grid,” said Mercedes’ DTM director Thomas Jager.
“Every AMG Junior Driver has an experienced full professional within his team from whom he can learn a lot by watching. From this approach, we expect an intense communication and steep learning curves.”
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