Mercedes reduces DTM involvement to four cars in 2024

However, the German manufacturer has retained all three of its full pro drivers for the year, with nine-time race winner Lucas Auer, Nurburgring and Macau GT victor Maro Engel and former GT World Challenge champion Luca Stolz all staying on in the category.

They will be joined in Mercedes’ 2024 DTM line-up by 26-year-old Arjun Maini, who was recently promoted to ‘Performance’ driver status in the marque’s factory GT roster.

The two drivers who have been dropped from Mercedes’ DTM programme are David Schumacher and Jusuf Owega, although both are expected to compete in other championships and races for the Stuttgart brand.

Schumacher, son of former Formula 1 and DTM ace Ralf, was widely expected to lose his seat in the DTM after two disappointing seasons that yielded just a single top 10 finish. The former Formula 3 race winner had also come under fire from other drivers for poor driving standards.

Owega, meanwhile, had a fairly successful rookie campaign after debuting at the age of 20, scoring points in half of the races and finishing 22nd in the championship.

However, there is no space for a fifth driver at Mercedes, with the Landgraf team that had expanded to the DTM after winning the GT Masters title in 2022 exiting ADAC’s flagship series after just a single year.

Lucas Auer, Mercedes-AMG Team WINWARD Mercedes-AMG GT3

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

Landgraf’s exit has left just HRT and Winward teams in Mercedes’ DTM line-up, with Engel moving across to Winward to take the place of the departing Schumacher. He will be joined by 2022 title runner-up Auer, now a stalwart at Winward, while Stolz and Maini remain at Hubert Haupt’s squad.

With four drivers and two teams, Mercedes will have a considerably reduced presence in the DTM compared to the previous years.

The Stuttgart brand returned to the championship in 2021 following its switch to GT3 regulations, providing factory support to seven cars – the most of any manufacturer. In fact, at the Nurburgring round of the same year, there were nine AMG GT3s on the grid, representing almost half the field.

Mercedes has since stuck with six factory-supported cars every year, but the number has now dropped to four in 2024 amid budget cuts.

“Taking into account our international achievements, the Mercedes-AMG GT3 is a highly competitive car,” said Stefan Wendl, head of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing.

“In last year’s DTM, we were not able to realise this potential for the title fight. Over the winter, we set the right course for 2024 and feel ideally positioned with our line-up of two Performance Teams and four Performance Drivers.

“My sincere thanks go to Klaus Landgraf and his entire team for the past season. We will strategically assign another task to Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf which will be announced at a later date.”

Stolz was Mercedes’ highest-placed driver in the 2023 standings, finishing sixth with a sole victory at the Sachsenring.