Mercedes-AMG will quit DTM in favor of Formula E after the 2018 season, they will join the all electric series in 2019 which will be the sixth season. Initially, they had planned to enter Formula E starting 2018 but the delay will see them last one more season in DTM where they built a name over the year, AMG especially owes a core part of its history in DTM over the years.

That said, DTM will only be left with two manufacturers, Audi and BMW. Formula E on the other hand continues to pull more car makers into the sport. The main reason being the future of electric cars, nearly every car maker has put a significant effort towards emission-free mobility. Audi has the e-tron brand, Mercedes has the EQ brand and BMW has the i brand. Audi is already in Formula E with ABT, BMW will join in the next season with Andretti while Jaguar whose electric brand is the I-Type, is also present through a partnership with Panasonic.

All these manufacturers, Renault, Jaguar, BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Farady Future and NextEV are in the frontline of today’s emissions free mobility. Like any other form of motorsport, the experience gained from Formula E will be reflected on their respective road cars, now and in future.

Mercedes and AMG began their DTM career in 1988 where they won six races, the 190E gained popularity from this point on with an engine developed by Cosworth for both race and road cars. They topped the manufacturer’s standings in 1991 with the highly successful 190E Evo II and Klaus Ludwig continued to dominate through to the 1992 season. He won the championship in 1992 and 1994 while Bernd Schneider took victory in 1995.

DTM went into hiatus after the 1996 season due to high costs, but was relaunched in 2000. Schneider would win more titles in 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2006. New era saw the likes of Pascal Wehrlein win the championship in 2015, the youngest DTM driver to win the championship. Others were Gary Paffett in 2005 and Paul Di Resta in 2010.

Speaking about the new move, Mercedes Motorsport boss Toto Wolff said, “Our years in the DTM will always be held high as a major chapter in the motorsport history of Mercedes. I want to thank every team member whose fantastic work has helped to make Mercedes-Benz the most successful DTM manufacturer during that time.

“Although leaving is tough for all of us, we will be doing everything during this season and next to make sure we win as many DTM titles as possible before we go. We owe that to our fans and to ourselves.”

Previous articleOfficial: 2018 Jaguar XJR575
Next articleMcLaren 570S Spider Review

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here