Fast start to the DTM season for Auer

Mercedes-AMG driver Lucas Auer is looking good after the opening day of practice for the season-opening rounds of the DTM touring car series at Austria's Red Bull Ring. The local favorite from Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf produced the fastest lap of free practice, a 1m28.204s in the second of three sessions. This additional 20-minute practice served as a qualifying simulation for the new Pirelli slick, which was developed for the DTM.

"That was a good start to my home event. We will see in Saturday's first qualifying session how we get on with the new tire," said Auer. "Driving at this great circuit is always very special for me. The first three corners will be particularly important in the races, as they are the best places to overtake."

Behind the 31-year-old, fellow Mercedes-AMG racers Jules Gounon (Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter) and Maro Engel (Mercedes-AMG Team Ravenol) ended the day in second and third place, with just 0.006s separating the trio. The fourth-fastest driver at the Formula 1 circuit was Ben Dörr (Dörr Motorsport), who posted the fastest time of the morning's opening session, stopping the clock at 1m28.567s.

"We worked hard and I spent a lot of time in the car. That paid dividends, as I did better than last year," said the McLaren driver. "The layout suits me. If the weather is nice, you could see the 1m28s mark cracked in Saturday's qualifying."

Tom Kalender (Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf) guided another Mercedes-AMG to fifth place. Dörr's teammate Timo Glock (Kreuzlingen) followed in sixth place.

All three practice sessions took place in glorious sunshine at the 2.69-mile track, set against the imposing Alpine backdrop in the region of Styria. While the top times were set during the qualifying simulation at midday, the other two sessions were a little slower. The fastest lap in the afternoon's third practice session came courtesy of 18-year-old Kalender, who posted a time of 1m28.841s.

• Watch Saturday's and Sunday's rounds of the 2026 DTM Championship from the Red Bull Ring live on RACER Network and the RACER+ app, starting at 7:15am ET both days.