DTM leader Maro Engel makes appearance at Formula 1

• Mercedes-AMG driver presents the Pirelli Pole Position Award in Zandvoort
• First DTM driver to present the pole position award in Formula 1

Zandvoort. Maro Engel (Monaco/Mercedes-AMG Team Ravenol) had a special job on the Saturday of the Formula 1 weekend in Zandvoort: the DTM leader swapped the steering wheel of his Mercedes-AMG GT3 for a trophy, as he presented the Pirelli Pole Position Award to Formula 1 driver Lando Norris. The Brit set the fastest lap time in qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix. Engel is the first DTM driver to have been given the honour of congratulating the winner of Formula 1 qualifying.

“It was a special honour for me to present the Pirelli Pole Position Award to Lando Norris. The initiative came about through the DTM. As the current leader in the DTM, I was given this special job, which I was naturally thrilled about. Pirelli is also the tyre partner of the DTM, and I find it nice that a link has been forged between the DTM and Formula 1 in this way. It also shows how valuable partnerships like this are, and what special opportunities they can produce. It was definitely a nice moment for me, to be on the other side for once here in Zandvoort”, said Engel after the presentation ceremony in Zandvoort, where he himself won a DTM race in 2023. The visit to the pinnacle of motorsport on the North Sea coast of the Netherlands was a welcome distraction for the Mercedes-AMG driver, before the DTM title race enters the finishing straight.

In three weeks, Engel travels to the penultimate round of the DTM at the Sachsenring (11th to 13th September) as championship leader. With four races remaining, the 40-year-old holds a slender lead of just one point over Porsche works driver Thomas Preining (A/Manthey). The title race will be decided in October, when the Hockenheimring hosts the season finale.