Mammoth programme for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport at DTM testing
The 2017 motorsport season is not over yet for 20-year-old Maximilian Günther. He completed test drives this week at the Lausitzring during the official Young Driver Tests held there. He drove the Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM on Wednesday and Thursday. Günther has acted as official test and reserve driver for the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport DTM team since the start of the 2017 season.
He had a real mammoth programme to complete at the Lausitzring. He posted 136 laps on his first day of testing and took out a DTM racing car in wet conditions for the first time. He completed a further 153 laps in the 500-bhp vehicle on Thursday. Austrian driver Lucas Auer set reference times for the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport DTM team.
After his successful DTM test, Günther is now concentrating hard on his preparations for the FIA F3 World Cup Macau Grand Prix on the weekend of 16th – 19th November 2017. Having placed third overall in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, he will be heading to China and to the world’s most prestigious Formula 3 event for the second time since 2016. He will line up again for well-established racing outfit SJM Theodore Racing by Prema, who have already won the street race eight times, including in 1983 with Formula 1 legend Ayrton Senna at the wheel.
Günther was impressive on his Macau debut last year, finishing as the third-best rookie in qualifying. He retired from Saturday’s qualifying race while in sixth place. Damage sustained through no fault of his own in the main race on Sunday after a strong charge up the field led to another early retirement. He has set his sights on victory overall in this year’s FIA F3 World Cup Macau Grand Prix.
Three questions for Maximilian Günther
Max, how did your Young Driver Test for the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport DTM Team go?
I had mega fun in the car! Wednesday morning’s wet conditions were a real challenge. It was my first time out in a DTM car in the wet and I had a lot of fun trying out different things. I found a good rhythm generally and felt comfortable in the car.
What did you have to do on your test programme?
We worked a lot on setup on both days and did lots of tests. I posted long runs and also did some qualifying simulations. I pushed really hard a couple of times and believe that I managed to achieve very fast lap times. I can feel that I’m making progress in the car. Many thanks to Mercedes-AMG and Lucas for their terrific support!
That crucial Formula 3 race in Macau is next up on your schedule. How do you think you’ll do?
I’m going to get started on my preparations for the Macau Grand Prix in China now that the DTM tests are over. The FIA F3 World Cup is an absolute top event to mark the end of the year, and I would like to round off the season with a positive outcome. My goal is to win the grand prix. I know that there will be a lot of different factors at play. We’ll see after Macau if there are any more test drives in prospect this year.