Matteo Cairoli claimed his second pole position of his rookie DTM season at Qualifying 1 at the Nürburgring weekend, putting himself in the ideal position to fight for victory as he looks to keep his championship hopes alive. The Ferrari driver produced a 1:25.345 in a closely fought qualifying session, beating Thomas Preining by just 0.036 seconds and Lucas Auer by 0.078 seconds. Having also taken pole at Zandvoort earlier in the season, Cairoli highlighted, while talking to Pit Debrief after the session, consistency as a key factor in his approach to the championship, despite acknowledging the sizable advantage currently held by championship leader Maro Engel.
However, uncertainty surrounded Cairoli’s pole shortly after Qualifying 1 at the DTM Nürburgring weekend when officials placed him under investigation for allegedly driving unnecessarily slowly in Sector 3. The Italian questioned the situation, explaining that the car ahead had forced him to slow down and insisting that he had not impeded another driver.
Cairoli stresses consistency as title fight continues
Cairoli identified consistency as one of the most important factors in his rookie DTM campaign. He entered the season aiming to finish every race and has largely achieved that goal, with the Norisring being the only exception after another driver took him out of contention.
Although Engel holds a significant advantage at the top of the standings, Cairoli remains determined to fight for the championship for as long as a mathematical chance remains. At the Nürburgring, his focus is firmly on cutting that deficit and taking as many points as possible away from the championship leader.
“I think it’s key number one, to be honest, in this championship. My main goal at the beginning of the season was to try to finish all the races. At the moment, I kind of managed, except in Norisring, but it was not my fault. In the end, I’ve been crashed. I mean, for sure, looking at the championship right now, it’s going to be difficult because, of course, Maro has a big lead in front, so he’s also a very, very quick driver. So, he’s not looking extremely nice, but until when we have a chance, mathematically, I won’t give up, and for sure, I will try to steal him as many points as possible this weekend.”
Cairoli questions investigation after qualifying
Cairoli admitted he had not been aware of the investigation immediately after qualifying and questioned the reasoning behind it. He explained that he had been forced to reduce his speed in Sector 3 because Kalendar was travelling slowly ahead of him, leaving him with little choice but to back off as well. Cairoli also pointed out that he had faced a similar situation during qualifying at Zandvoort and maintained that he had not impeded another driver, while awaiting the stewards’ final decision.
“No, to be honest, no, but it’s all the time the same. I mean, Kalendar was going at 20 kph. I had to slow down because, you know, I didn’t disturb any other car. So, I don’t understand this rule, to be honest, because I got already in Q2 in Zandvoort something similar, but, you know, what could I do if the car in front of me is slowing down? You know, I need to slow down as well. So, this is the reason, but, yeah, let’s see what happens.”
Cairoli sets sights on victory from pole
Looking ahead to the race, Cairoli acknowledged the unpredictable nature of racing at the Nürburgring but remained clear about his objective. Starting probably from pole gives him the strongest possible platform, and the Ferrari driver intends to capitalise on that advantage by fighting for victory.
“I don’t know. Because it’s always a big gamble here, but for sure, I mean, we are starting from the best position, and for me, the aim is very clear. I want to win the race.”
