Albon celebrates first DTM career win with Nürburgring masterclass
LATEST NEWS: Nick Cassidy stands in for Alex Albon (THA) at the wheel of the #23 Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 in the colours of Red Bull’s premium fashion brand AlphaTauri.
Albon will instead attend the Formula One Grand Prix in Turkey as the reserve and test driver for Red Bull Racing Honda.
UPDATE: Lawson earns DTM lead after Assen podiums with two rounds left
Here is all you need to know: Albon 6th.
– Albon, 25, said: “We have found a solution to fix the issues on the car compared to yesterday.
We changed the car a lot overnight to get the car in a window which is a bit more normal and the pace came back. It’s good to know that we can get the car back up at the top.”
Race 1 result
1. Marco Wittmann (GER) – Walkenhorst Motorsport
2. Mirko Bortolotti (ITA) – T3 Motorsport
3. Liam Lawson (NZL) – Red Bull AlphaTauri AF Corse
4. Maximilian Götz (GER) – Mercedes-AMG Team HRT
5.Christian Klien (AUT) – JP Motorsport
DNF Alex Albon (THA) – Red Bull AlphaTauri AF Corse
Race 2 result
1. Lucas Auer (AUT) – Mercedes-AMG Team Winward
2. Liam Lawson (NZL) – Red Bull AlphaTauri AF Corse
3. Marco Wittmann (GER) – Walkenhorst Motorsport
4. Kelvin van der Linde (RSA) – Team Abt Sportsline
5. Alex Albon (THA) – Red Bull AlphaTauri AF Corse
More on Albon’s first DTM win
Thai driver Alex Albon celebrates the first DTM win of his career in Sunday’s race eight at the iconic Nürburgring circuit to move up to fourth overall in the title race.
– Following a difficult race seven on Saturday, Sunday’s race could not have gone better for Albon as he managed difficult, wet conditions in his #23 Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 to top qualifying.
– He remained calm during the race, despite numerous incidents and safety car periods, crossing the line after 38 laps with a lead of 4.6 seconds to record his first DTM series career victory and third 2021 trip to the podium following third-place finishes at Zolder and Monza.
Albon, 25, said: “A great day for the team, and for me too! Zolder had already gone well and we took another big step forward here and that after being essentially nowhere on Saturday. We were pondering that for a long time in the evening. We went in the right direction with the set-up today and we were rewarded with the win. I hope that we can take this momentum to the home race at the Red Bull Ring.”
– Ahmet Mercan, CEO of Red Bull’s premium fashion brand AlphaTauri, added: “First DTM race victory! Congrats to Alex and the team. We are excited about a successful weekend in the 2021 DTM season.”
– While Albon’s race eight victory on Sunday was a welcome bounce back from race-ending suspension problems on Saturday, teammate Liam Lawson did not enjoy the same turn of luck.
– In race seven, the young New Zealander spun after a rival car made contact, falling way back through the field. He battled his way to the line but missed out on points after finishing 13th.
– Race eight also did not go as planned for Lawson. Starting in midfield, he was involved in multiple incidents that forced him to make extra pit stops and eventually retire with suspension problems.
– Lawson, 19, said: “A frustrating Sunday race to round off a frustrating weekend for us overall. I actually made a very good start today and we timed my pit stop well. When I came back out, I was in a battle with Maximilian Götz. Unfortunately, there was contact and he opened up my rear tyre so I had to come back in and continue on used tyres. I still managed to make a good restart and battled my way forward however there was then some chaos in the chicane during the battle with an Audi.”
The points awarded for pole position and the race eight-win see Albon move up now to fourth spot in the 2021 drivers’ standings with 82 points as Lawson drops to fifth place on 80 points.
– After eight races, Red Bull AlphaTauri AF Corse has scored 162 points and is in second place in the team standings with the next DTM stop from September 3-5 at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.
Stay up to date with Alex Albons career with Phuket Sport and 91.5 FM and 102.5 FM online, On-Air and OnDemand.
