The Norisring did more than deliver another dramatic DTM weekend, it reshaped the 2026 championship standings completely.
Nicki Thiim arrived in Nürnberg sixth in the Drivers’ Championship and 17 points away from the lead. He left the only street on the calendar on top of the standings after producing the perfect weekend. The Comtoyou Racing driver claimed pole position for Race 1, converted it into victory, repeated the feat in Qualifying 2 and then controlled Race 2 in difficult, changing conditions. With two poles and two race wins, Thiim collected the maximum 56 points available across the weekend.
As a result the Dane now leads the 2026 DTM Drivers’ Championship with 117 points after eight of 16 races.
Thiim takes control of the title fight
Thiim’s Norisring sweep marked one of the defining performances of the season so far. His Race 1 win moved him firmly into the title picture, while his second victory on Sunday completed a remarkable turnaround in the standings.
The Aston Martin driver had already shown his strong relationship with the Norisring in 2024, when he took his maiden DTM victory at the circuit. However, his 2026 weekend carried far greater championship significance. Thiim now leads Maro Engel by nine points, Engel sits second on 108 points after a strong Saturday and a more difficult Sunday. The Mercedes-AMG Team Ravenol driver finished second in Race 1 and scored again with seventh in Race 2, but he could not prevent Thiim from taking the championship lead.
Lucas Auer remains close in third. The Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf driver scored heavily in both races, finishing fourth on Saturday and third on Sunday. He now has 106 points, only two behind Engel.
Cairoli loses ground after difficult Sunday
Matteo Cairoli entered the Norisring weekend as the championship leader after his Lausitzring victory, but the round proved costly for the Emil Frey Racing driver.
The Italian scored five points with 11th place in Race 1, but his Sunday race ended after contact involving Marco Mapelli and Luca Engstler. With no major return from the weekend, Cairoli drops to fourth in the standings on 83 points. Marco Wittmann also endured a challenging round at his home race. The Schubert Motorsport driver retired from Race 1 after early damage and could only recover six points with 10th place in Race 2. He remains fifth in the championship on 77 points.
Ben Dörr follows in sixth with 76 points. After his Lausitzring victory, the McLaren driver added points in both races at the Norisring but could not match the pace of the leading contenders.
Ford drivers make major gains
HRT Ford Performance enjoyed one of its strongest weekends of the season. Arjun Maini continued his strong street-circuit form by taking third in Race 1 and fourth in Race 2. With additional qualifying points across the weekend, he climbed to seventh in the Drivers’ Championship on 74 points.
Finn Wiebelhaus also made a major move. The rookie finished sixth in Race 1 before taking second in Qualifying 2 and second in Race 2. His Sunday podium helped him rise into the top 10 of the standings with 63 points.
Their combined points haul transformed HRT Ford Performance’s position in the Teams’ Championship.
2026 DTM Drivers’ Standings after Round 4 at the Norisring
- Nicki Thiim (Comtoyou Racing) – 117 points
- Maro Engel (Mercedes-AMG Team Ravenol) – 108 points
- Lucas Auer (Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf) – 106 points
- Matteo Cairoli (Emil Frey Racing) – 83 points
- Marco Wittmann (Schubert Motorsport) – 77 points
- Ben Dörr (Doerr Motorsport) – 76 points
- Arjun Maini (HRT Ford Racing) – 74 points
- Thomas Preining (Manthey) – 70 points
- Thierry Vermeulen (Emil Frey Racing) – 67 points
- Finn Wiebelhaus (HRT Ford Racing) – 63 points
- Jules Gounon (Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER) – 59 points
- Kelvin van der Linde (Schubert Motorsport) – 54 points
- Ricardo Feller (Manthey) – 50 points
- Mirko Bortolotti (TGI Team by GRT) – 37 points
- Luca Engstler (Red Bull Team ABT) – 32 points
- Marco Mapelli (Red Bull Team ABT) – 31 points
- Bastian Buus (Land-Motorsport) – 23 points
- Tom Kalender (Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf) – 21 points
- Timo Glock (Doerr Motorsport) – 13 points
- Maximilian Paul (TGI Team by GRT) – 5 points
- Nicolas Baert (Comtoyou Racing) – 2 points
Winward Racing moves clear in Teams’ Championship
The Norisring also changed the shape of the Teams’ Championship. Winward Racing moved back to the top after Engel and Jules Gounon scored strongly across the weekend. Engel’s second and seventh places brought crucial points, while Gounon added seventh in Race 1 and fifth in Race 2. The Mercedes-AMG squad now leads with 162 points.
Emil Frey Racing sits second on 141 points after a mixed weekend. Thierry Vermeulen scored well in both races, finishing fifth and sixth, but Cairoli’s difficult Sunday limited the team’s total.
HRT Ford Performance made the biggest jump. Maini and Wiebelhaus combined for podiums, front-row starts and heavy race points, lifting the team to third on 126 points. That puts Ford’s lead team ahead of Schubert Motorsport, Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf and Manthey EMA in a tightly packed midfield fight.
Schubert Motorsport drops to fourth on 125 points after a difficult weekend. Wittmann scored only six points on Sunday, while Kelvin van der Linde did not take part in Race 2 after the heavy Race 1 crash involving Maximilian Paul.
2026 DTM Teams’ Standings after Round 4 at the Norisring
- Winward Racing – 162 points
- Emil Frey Racing – 141 points
- HRT Ford Racing – 126 points
- Schubert Motorsport – 125 points
- Landgraf Motorsport – 124 points
- Manthey – 119 points
- Comtoyou Racing – 109 points
- Dörr Motorsport – 87
- ABT Sportsline – 62 points
- GRT Grasser-Racing-Team – 42 points
- Land Motorsport – 23 points
Mercedes-AMG stays clear as Ford and Aston Martin surge
Mercedes-AMG remains in control of the Manufacturers’ Championship after Round 4 at the Norisring, moving to 221 points. Strong points across the weekend from Maro Engel, Lucas Auer and Jules Gounon allowed the manufacturer to extend its advantage at the top, even as Nicki Thiim dominated the weekend for Aston Martin.
Ferrari moves into second on 150 points after another consistent weekend from Emil Frey Racing. Thierry Vermeulen scored well in both races, while Matteo Cairoli’s limited return prevented Ferrari from closing the gap further to Mercedes-AMG.
Porsche sits third with 138 points, only one point ahead of Ford. HRT Ford Performance delivered one of the strongest manufacturer performances of the Norisring weekend, with Arjun Maini and Finn Wiebelhaus both scoring heavily. Their podium finishes, qualifying points and front-running pace lifted Ford to 137 points and firmly into the fight near the front.
BMW drops to fifth on 130 points after a difficult weekend for Schubert Motorsport. Marco Wittmann recovered points on Sunday, but his Race 1 retirement and Kelvin van der Linde’s absence from Race 2 limited BMW’s overall score.
Aston Martin made the biggest statement of the weekend. Thiim’s perfect Norisring sweep brought the manufacturer to 127 points, moving it to sixth and putting it within reach of BMW and Ford. Lamborghini follows in seventh on 108 points, while McLaren completes the standings with 98 points.
2026 DTM Manufacturers’ Standings after Round 4 at the Norisring
- Mercedes-AMG – 221 points
- Ferrari – 150 points
- Porsche – 138 points
- Ford – 137 points
- BMW – 130 points
- Aston Martin – 127 points
- Lamborghini – 108 points
- McLaren – 98 points
Mercedes-AMG now holds a 71-point advantage over Ferrari, but the fight behind remains extremely tight. Only 23 points separate Ferrari in second from Aston Martin in sixth after a weekend that brought Ford and Aston Martin firmly into the picture.
Norisring resets the 2026 DTM season
After four rounds, the 2026 DTM season remains wide open, but the momentum has shifted sharply.
Thiim now holds the Drivers’ Championship lead after producing the strongest weekend any driver has managed this year. Engel and Auer remain within striking distance, while Cairoli, Wittmann, Dörr and Maini still sit close enough to capitalise if the leaders stumble.
The Teams’ Championship looks equally competitive. Winward Racing has opened a useful lead, but Emil Frey Racing, HRT Ford Performance, Schubert Motorsport, Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf and Manthey EMA remain separated by relatively small margins.
The Norisring rewarded precision, confidence and track position. More importantly, it turned Thiim from an outside contender into the driver everyone else now has to chase.
