Christmas must have come earlier for some, as five talented young drivers were given the opportunity to bond with the DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupe during testing sessions in Spain.
Felix Rosenqvist (23, Sweden), Esteban Ocon (18, France) and Lucas Auer (20, Austria) were the lucky ones rewarded for outstanding achievements in Formula 3. All three drivers achieved success with the new Mercedes-Benz Formula 3 engine this season.
They were followed by Maximilian Götz (28, Germany), who won the Blancpain Sprint Series title in a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 before season’s end this year.
Last but not least, Charles Pic (24, France) was also in Jerez, trying out the DTM Mercedes AMG C‑Coupe. The Frenchman contested a total of 39 Formula 1 races for Marussia and Caterham during 2012 and 2013 and acted as official test and reserve driver this season for the Lotus F1 team.
All five promising race drivers were keen on thanking Mercedes-Benz for such an opportunity and the action was also encouraged by Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport:
“It was wonderful to see so many young and talented racing drivers gaining experience in our DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupe. Charles, Esteban, Felix, Lucas and Maximilian did a good job. The brand with the three pointed star has for decades enjoyed great success in bringing on young drivers in motor racing, and during that time, many of them have successfully moved up into Formula 1 or to the DTM,” the official stated.
Mercedes-Benz has a long tradition of bringing on junior drivers in motor racing. During their time in Formula 3, drivers including Formula 1 2014 world champion Lewis Hamilton from MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS, four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel and the youngest race winner in DTM history and Pascal Wehrlein utilised Mercedes-Benz engines.
