DTM final race report: Liam Lawson misses out on title
Lawson made a flawless start from pole position, but when defending his lead under braking, van der Linde braked too late and crashed into the side of the number 30 car. Although he could continue, the Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 was severely damaged, and the best he could manage was 18th.
Lawson’s only hope of being crowned champion was for neither van der Linde nor German Maximilian Götz – his closest rivals – to win the race. And while van der Linde subsequently suffered a puncture and dropped back, Götz – with help from Mercedes team orders – moved forward through the pack to assume the race lead and claim a come-from-behind race win and claim the championship victory.
“I’m obviously very disappointed and gutted for my whole team,” said Lawson. “They really deserved this title. To be taken out by the same guy over and over again says it all. Turn one, lap one of the race – what can you say? I just feel bad for my whole team.”
Van der Linde also tussled with Cassidy, sending the driver of the AlphaTauri car to the back of the field. He fought strongly until he again fell down the standings as a consequence of another collision. He eventually crossed the finish line in 13th place.
“Obviously, the result today was not perfect, but we tried our best,” said Cassidy. “After a great performance in qualifying by Liam and me, it was great to start at the front. Unfortunately, some circumstances out of our control didn’t help in the race. I was really pleased with my drive to come back from half a lap down to P4. The pace of the car was amazing, and I tried my best to fight for the win. In the end, it wasn’t meant to be. Thanks to the team for the opportunity to race here. I had a lot of fun.”
Lawson ended his debut season in the DTM in second place overall, with three wins, four pole positions and 10 podiums to his name. Second place overall in his rookie season and a clear win in the Junior classification should be some consolation for the young New Zealander.
Race 1 result (Top 5):
Maximilian Götz (GER) – Mercedes-AMG Team HRT
Arjun Maini (IND) – Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed
Liam Lawson (NZL) – Red Bull AlphaTauri AF Corse
Kelvin van der Linde (RSA) – Team ABT Sportsline
Nick Cassidy (NZL) – Red Bull AlphaTauri AF Corse
Maximilian Götz (GER) – Mercedes-AMG Team HRT
Lucas Auer (AUT) – Mercedes-AMG Team Winward
Maximilian Buhk (GER) – Mercedes AMG Team Mücke Motorsport
Mike Rockenfeller (GER) – Team ABT Sportsline
Dani Juncadella (ESP) – Mercedes-AMG Team GruppeM Racing
Maximilian Götz (GER) – Mercedes-AMG Team HRT 230 points
Liam Lawson (NZL) – Red Bull AlphaTauri AF Corse 227 pts
Kelvin van der Linde (RSA) – Team ABT Sportsline 208 pts
Red Bull AlphaTauri AF Corse 368 points
Team ABT Sportsline 296 pts
Mercedes-AMG Team Winward 281 pts
Mercedes-AMG Team HRT 262 pts
Walkenhorst Motorsport 171 pts
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