Mercedes-AMG driver Maro Engel moved to the front of the 2026 DTM drivers’ standings after the season’s second half opened at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. He grabbed the lead on Saturday and defended it on Sunday, backed by a strong weekend across the Mercedes-AMG line-up. The German brand now leads all three DTM classifications.
Maro Engel heads into the second half of the 2026 DTM season on top of the drivers’ championship. The Mercedes-AMG driver took the lead on Saturday at the 3.667-kilometre (2.279-mile) Motorsport Arena Oschersleben and held on to it through Sunday’s race, capping a productive weekend for the four-car Mercedes-AMG effort.
Sunday: strategy pays off
Twenty cars lined up for the round. Engel started fifth, Jules Gounon tenth, Tom Kalender 15th and Lucas Auer 16th — the Austrian having run off track on his fastest qualifying lap.
Sunday’s race, with its two mandatory pit stops, opened the door to varied strategies, and Engel and the Mercedes-AMG Team RAVENOL made the most of it. Running his #80 Mercedes-AMG GT3 long on both stops, Engel used a successful overcut at the second stop to gain two places and secure second overall.
Gounon climbed one spot to finish ninth, Auer recovered ground at his second stop to take 12th, and Kalender saw the flag in 18th.
Saturday: lead secured
All four Mercedes-AMG cars had started Saturday’s race inside the top ten — Engel third, Auer fourth, Gounon sixth and Kalender tenth.
Engel gained a place off the line but lost it again on track after dropping time at the mandatory pit stop, and finished third. Auer came home fourth. Kalender fell to 13th after a penalty lap for exceeding the pit-lane speed limit by 1 km/h. Gounon was caught up in a three-car scrap early on, ran off track and had to retire his GT3 on lap 27.
Mercedes-AMG leads all three titles
After Oschersleben, Mercedes-AMG Motorsport tops every DTM classification. Engel leads the drivers’ standings on 145 points, Mercedes-AMG Team Winward Racing heads the teams’ table on 205 points, and Mercedes-AMG leads the manufacturers’ championship on 277 points.
“I’m very happy. Two podiums made it a superb weekend for me,” said Engel, according to a translation of his German-language remarks. “Of course I’m pleased to be leading the championship now. But it won’t be decided today, nor at the Nürburgring, nor at the Sachsenring.”
Thomas Jäger, DTM sporting director at Mercedes-AMG Motorsport, called it “a very good weekend for us,” praising the Saturday qualifying pace across all four cars while turning attention to the next round.
What it means
With the title fight still wide open and several rounds to run, the Oschersleben result gives Mercedes-AMG the initiative at the halfway point — but, as Engel notes, consistency rather than single results is likely to decide the championship.
DTM rounds eleven and twelve take place at the Nürburgring from 14 to 16 August.
Facts: Mercedes-AMG DTM Oschersleben
- Circuit: Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, 3.667 km (2.279 miles)
- Sunday result: Engel P2, Gounon P9, Auer P12, Kalender P18
- Saturday result: Engel P3, Auer P4, Kalender P13, Gounon DNF (lap 27)
- Drivers’ championship: Maro Engel, 145 points (leader)
- Teams’ championship: Mercedes-AMG Team Winward Racing, 205 points (leader)
- Manufacturers’ championship: Mercedes-AMG, 277 points (leader)
- Next round: Nürburgring, 14–16 August 2026
Source: media.mercedes-benz.com