DTM | 2026 Lausitzring | Free Practice 1 | Maini tops tightly contested session

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Free Practice 1 at the Lausitzring marked the start of the third race weekend of the 2026 DTM season, as the field returned to Germany following an unpredictable round at Zandvoort. The Dutch circuit delivered two very different races, with changing conditions, incidents and strategic decisions once again highlighting how closely matched the championship field remains.

Matteo Cairoli emerged as one of the weekend’s standout performers, claiming his first DTM victory in Race 1 and strengthening Ferrari’s position in the championship fight. Kelvin van der Linde then responded on Sunday, converting pole position into his first victory for BMW, while Marco Wittmann completed an impressive recovery from 13th on the grid to secure another podium. Mercedes-AMG remained consistent across the weekend, allowing Maro Engel to regain the championship lead ahead of Lucas Auer.

With Engel leading Auer by just six points and Wittmann, Thomas Preining and Cairoli all remaining firmly in contention, the Lausitzring offered another opportunity for the championship picture to shift. Mercedes-AMG arrived as the leading manufacturer, but BMW and Ferrari’s strong results at Zandvoort demonstrated the growing threat from behind. Free Practice 1 therefore provided the teams with their first chance to adapt to the Lausitzring and establish an early benchmark ahead of the weekend’s qualifying sessions and races.

Early pace-setters emerge as several drivers face a disrupted start to Free Practice 1

As the 55-minute Free Practice 1 session got underway, the entire DTM field headed out to gather valuable data in the sunny conditions at the Lausitzring.

Auer was the first driver to set a representative benchmark, but the times quickly began to fall as the rest of the grid settled into the session. Dörr briefly moved to the top with a 1:22.168 before Preining lowered the pace further, taking P1 with a 1:21.349.

Meanwhile, there appeared to be an issue on one side of the Schubert Motorsport garage, with Wittmann remaining in the pits and yet to set a time during the opening minutes of FP1. Both Ford Mustangs of Arjun Maini and Wiebelhaus were also pushed back into the garage, leaving the HRT pair near the bottom of the timing screens alongside Wittmann. The team soon sent both cars back out, however, as it continued to gather data.

Elsewhere, Nicolas Baert appeared to be struggling to extract pace from his Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin during the early stages of the session.

Engstler brushes the wall before setting the pace as Wittmann returns to the track

Just over 10 minutes into DTM Free Practice 1, Luca Engstler reported that he had made contact with the wall. However, the incident did not appear to cause any significant damage, as the ABT driver soon went fastest with a 1:21.054.

After spending the opening part of the session in the Schubert Motorsport garage, Wittmann returned to the track and moved into P13 with a 1:21.711. With more than half of the field heading back into the pits, the circuit became noticeably quieter as the remaining drivers continued their data-gathering runs.

With 35 minutes left on the clock, Preining was called to the weighbridge for a routine random check, briefly interrupting his programme. Meanwhile, the Aston Martin drivers began to show signs of improvement, although Kelvin van der Linde, Riccardo Feller and Timo Glock continued to struggle for pace compared to several of their rivals, including their respective teammates.

Maini leads HRT one-two threat as the field remains tightly matched at the Lausitzring

HRT appeared to have resolved the earlier issue on Maini’s car, allowing the Ford driver to move up to P2 with a 1:21.140, just behind Engstler.

With 23 minutes remaining, the entire field was separated by less than a second. Glock sat at the bottom of the order with a 1:22.005, only 0.951s away from Engstler’s benchmark. Although the times remained close, outright pace was not necessarily the main focus of the session, with more representative qualifying runs expected during Free Practice 2 later in the day.

Feller improved to P13 before Auer became the first driver to break into the 1:20s, moving to the top with a 1:20.992. The Emil Frey Racing Ferraris, meanwhile, appeared to be struggling compared to their strong showing at Zandvoort, with Cairoli and Vermeulen down in P17 and P18.

Bortolotti then climbed to second with a 1:21.023, but the order changed again when Maini set a new benchmark of 1:20.986. That lap moved him into first and pushed Bortolotti back to third. Wiebelhaus also showed strong pace in the second HRT Ford, placing fourth with a 1:21.052, just as the chequered flag ended DTM Free Practice 1 at the Lausitzring, leaving a gap of just over a second between first and last.