Lucas Auer makes strong start to 2026 DTM season

• Mercedes-AMG driver goes fastest in Friday's practice at the Red Bull Ring
• McLaren duo Dörr and Glock finish fourth and sixth in Spielberg
• Little to choose between the whole field in the opening sessions of the new DTM season

Spielberg. Mercedes-AMG driver Lucas Auer (A) is looking good ahead of his home outing: the local favourite from Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf produced the fastest lap of DTM free practice at the Red Bull Ring on Friday. Auer recorded the fastest time of 1:28.204 minutes in the second of three sessions. This additional 20-minute practice served as a qualifying simulation for the new Pirelli slick, which was developed for the DTM. "That was a good start to my home event. We will see in Saturday's first qualifying session how we get on with the new tyre. Driving at this great circuit is always very special for me. The first three corners will be particularly important in the races, as they are the best places to overtake," said Auer.

Behind the 31-year-old, fellow Mercedes-AMG racers Jules Gounon (F/Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter) and Maro Engel (Monaco/Mercedes-AMG Team Ravenol) ended the day in second and third place, with just 0.006 seconds separating the trio. The fourth-fastest driver at the Formula 1 circuit was Ben Dörr (Butzbach/Dörr Motorsport), who posted the fastest time of the morning's opening session, stopping the clock at 1:28.567 minutes. "We worked hard and I spent a lot of time in the car. That paid dividends, as I did better than last year. The layout suits me. If the weather is nice, you could see the 1:28.000-minute mark cracked in Saturday's qualifying," said the McLaren driver. Tom Kalender (Hamm/Sieg/Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf) guided another Mercedes-AMG to fifth place. Dörr's team-mate Timo Glock (Kreuzlingen) followed in sixth place.

All three practice sessions took place in glorious sunshine at the 4.326-kilometre racetrack, set against the imposing Alpine backdrop in the region of Styria. While the top times were set during the qualifying simulation at midday, the other two sessions were a little slower. The fastest lap in the afternoon's third practice session came courtesy of 18-year-old Kalender, who posted a time of 1:28.841 minutes.

The first qualifying of the 2026 DTM starts at 09:40 on Saturday. Fans can follow the session in a livestream on Joyn and ran.de. ProSieben is showing all 16 of the season's races live on free-to-air TV, with coverage starting at 13:00 on Saturday and Sunday. The two races will also be streamed free of charge on Joyn, ran.de, ServusTV On and the YouTube channel @DTM.

All results from the Red Bull Ring can be found at dtm.com/en/results.