DTM | 2026 Zandvoort | Race 1 | Cairoli turns Zandvoort pole into maiden DTM victory

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DTM Race 1 at Zandvoort belonged to Matteo Cairoli, as the Emil Frey Ferrari driver converted pole position into his first victory in the series. The Italian completed a perfect Saturday on the Dutch dunes after topping Friday practice, taking pole in qualifying, and then controlling the race from the front.

Lucas Auer finished second for Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf after making an early move into P2 at the start. Cairoli’s Emil Frey Racing teammate Thierry Vermeulen completed the podium on home soil, giving Ferrari a double podium at the Dutch Formula 1 circuit.

Behind the top three, Bastian Buus delivered one of the standout defensive drives of the race. The Land-Motorsport Porsche driver spent the closing stages under heavy pressure from Jules Gounon but held firm to take fourth place.

Cairoli converts pole into early control in DTM Race 1 at Zandvoort

Cairoli made a strong start from pole and held the lead into Turn 1, keeping the Ferrari clean through the opening phase before quickly settling into a rhythm at the front. Behind him, Auer also launched well and made immediate progress, moving past Vermeulen to take second as the Dutchman dropped to third in front of his home crowd.

Buus held fourth in the Porsche 911 GT3 R, with Gounon slotting into fifth in the Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter car. Ben Dörr followed in sixth for Dörr Motorsport, while Maro Engel, Luca Engstler and Thomas Preining ran close behind as the field began to settle after the opening exchanges.

Further back, the opening lap brought early drama as Timo Glock’s difficult Saturday quickly got worse. After a technical issue in qualifying had left him starting only 20th, the Dörr Motorsport driver came together with Kelvin van der Linde in the opening exchanges and picked up damage that caused a puncture. The incident dropped Glock well down the order, and although the stewards reviewed the contact, they chose not to hand out a penalty. Glock’s race later ended in retirement, capping a frustrating afternoon for the former Formula 1 driver.

Ferrari sets the pace at the front

Once the race settled down, Cairoli began to stretch his advantage at the front, pulling more than a second clear of Auer within a few laps before continuing to edge away ahead of the pit window. Auer kept the gap under control but could not put the Ferrari driver under real pressure, while Vermeulen remained in third, close enough to stay in the podium fight but not near enough to attack the Mercedes ahead.

Behind the leading trio, Buus kept Gounon at arm’s length during the first stint, even as the Frenchman appeared to have stronger pace at times. The Porsche driver avoided mistakes and stayed calm under pressure, while the midfield remained tight behind them, with Dörr holding sixth as Engel searched for a way to gain ground. Engstler ran inside the points for ABT Lamborghini, with Preining close behind in the Manthey Porsche.

Further back, Mirko Bortolotti and Van der Linde became locked in a lively scrap that included several small moments of contact, but the race stayed green and the order at the front remained stable.

Pit stops bring little change

The mandatory pit stop window opened on lap 13, with Buus and Dörr among the first frontrunners to come in for fresh Pirelli slicks. Both stops ran cleanly and allowed them to protect their positions, before Cairoli came in on lap 16 and Emil Frey Racing sent the Ferrari back out still in control of the race. Auer, Vermeulen, Buus and Gounon also moved through the pit phase without losing ground, leaving the leading order unchanged.

Engel stayed out slightly longer than most of those ahead of him and stopped on lap 18, while Kelvin van der Linde stretched his stint even further before coming in on lap 24, although the alternate approach did not bring him back into contention. The pit phase still produced drama elsewhere, as Marco Mapelli was released into the path of Bortolotti while leaving the ABT garage, leading to contact between the two Lamborghinis and adding to a difficult afternoon for the manufacturer.

At the front, however, the pit cycle brought little change. Cairoli continued to lead from Auer, Vermeulen, Buus and Gounon, while Dörr stayed sixth and Engel remained inside the points. Preining was one of the few drivers to gain ground, moving ahead of Engstler as the order settled again after the stops.

Gounon pushes Buus to the limit

With the leading trio evenly spaced after the stops, the main battle became the fight for fourth. Gounon closed onto the back of Buus and began to increase the pressure in the Mercedes-AMG. The Frenchman searched for a gap lap after lap. Buus defended firmly but fairly for most of the fight, placing his Porsche well and stopping Gounon from getting a clean run.

In the final minutes, Gounon launched one of his strongest attacks into Turn 1. He drew alongside Buus, but the Dane held the inside and forced the Mercedes wide as the fight reached its peak. The stewards investigated the moment and gave Buus a warning, but no penalty followed. That allowed the 22-year-old to keep fourth place after one of the most intense duels of the race.

Cairoli takes breakthrough win

Cairoli stayed composed until the chequered flag and completed 36 flawless laps to claim his maiden DTM victory. It was a controlled and mature drive from the rookie, who turned Ferrari’s pace into a commanding result.

Auer finished second and took over the lead of the championship from Engel. His strong start and clean race gave him another valuable points haul after his solid opening round at the Red Bull Ring. Vermeulen crossed the line third and secured a popular home podium at Zandvoort. The result also gave Emil Frey Racing a strong double podium, with Cairoli on the top step and Vermeulen alongside him.

Buus finished fourth ahead of Gounon, while Dörr brought the McLaren home in sixth. Engel recovered to seventh after his later stop but slipped to second in the standings behind Auer. Preining took eighth for Manthey, Engstler finished ninth as the best Lamborghini driver, and Nicki Thiim completed the top ten for Comtoyou Racing in the Aston Martin Vantage GT3.

Glock, Van der Linde and Tom Kalender all failed to reach the finish. For Cairoli, however, Race 1 at Zandvoort marked a breakthrough moment, as he sealed his first DTM win and moved up to third in the championship.