Marco Wittmann keeps second place at DTM Zandvoort despite penalty

Schubert BMW driver Marco Wittmann maintained second position at DTM Zandvoort — despite receiving a five-second penalty for an incident with Jack Aitken at the first corner.

Wittmann, who started from third position, was penalized for allegedly pushing Aitken’s Ferrari off track during an overtake on the opening lap. However, the penalty had minimal impact — he still finished ahead of Thomas Preining by a mere 0.005 seconds.

“That was actually the plan from the start,” said Wittmann about his jump to second place. “I tried to give him space. Of course, I was aware that I had an advantage in the next corner because I was on the inside.”

The two-time DTM champion challenged his teammate Rene Rast for the lead in the closing stages of the one-hour race. However, Zandvoort’s narrow characteristics made overtaking attempts particularly challenging.

“Rene had a very strong pace in the first and second stint,” Wittmann stated. “Then the tide turned when I was suddenly able to attack in the final stint. But it wasn’t quite enough.”

After finishing sixth in the opening race won by Ayhancan Guven, Wittmann now sits sixth in the standings — 21 points behind leader Lucas Auer heading into the next round at Norisring.