With Mercedes-AMG Motorsport DTM set to contest its final Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season this year, Maro Engel has also announced that he will not be able to participate with the HWA-backed squad over the forthcoming 10-weekend calendar.
The 32-year-old returned to DTM at the beginning of last year, as a result of the Stuttgart brand’s trust with the seasoned racer, who finally picked up what was to be his sole victory at Moscow Raceway last July.
Engel’s season got underway in late January, racing at the famous Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona as an official Mercedes-AMG driver, followed by the recent Santiago ePrix in Chile this past weekend.
But clashes with his Formula E commitments in the Venturi squad would see him miss out on both the Lausitzring and Zandvoort race meetings.
“Thank you very much to the entire team for a fantastic time. It’s a pity that the Formula E and the DTM racing calendars overlap to some extent this season,” admitted the German, who was pleased to finally take victory in Russia, having shown great promise in his initial 42 appearances.
After lengthy talks over the customary off-season break for the DTM, it was decided that Engel would concentrate on both Formula E and GT racing as of the new year, even though he was Mercedes’ representative when the DTM was in Japan late last season.
“Unfortunately, there’s no easy solution, because I would love to be lining up again in the DTM, especially as it’s Mercedes-AMG’s final year in the series. However, I intend to be at some of the team’s races and hope they can bring the title back to Stuttgart and Affalterbach in their swan-song year.”
Head of Mercedes-AMG Motorsport DTM, Ulrich Fritz complimented the departing Engel on being ‘an important member of our team’ in 2017.
“Many thanks again for that one! This season, he is fully focused on Formula E and our customer sports programme. He’s an absolute all rounder, fast in any racing car, so I know he’ll be successful again this year whether it’s in a single-seater Formula E racing car or in a GT car. Maro remains part of the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport family and everyone in the DTM team will be wishing him the best of luck in all his races in 2018.”
The driver line-up for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport DTM has yet to be decided, with Canadian Robert Wickens now moving to Indycar and Engel now moving on to his current commitments, the Stuttgart brand will have to make a decision that could help them power towards a final hurrah in the DTM this year.