Jules Gounon described his return to the DTM podium as a reward for refusing to give up after a difficult 2026 season, following his second-place finish in Race 1 at the Sachsenring.
The Mercedes-AMG driver emerged as Marco Wittmann’s closest challenger throughout Saturday’s race. Gounon briefly moved ahead during the pit-stop sequence before Wittmann reclaimed the position, with just 0.45 seconds separating the pair at the chequered flag. Thomas Preining completed the podium in third.
Speaking during the press conference after DTM Race 1 at the Sachsenring, attended by Pit Debrief, Gounon reflected on returning to a circuit that holds special memories for him, Mercedes-AMG’s recent progress and his attempts to force Wittmann into a mistake.
Sachsenring success holds special meaning for Gounon
The Sachsenring has played an important role in Gounon’s career. He took a breakthrough GT3 victory at the circuit a decade ago, and his latest visit finally delivered his first DTM podium of the 2026 season. After showing improved form at the Nürburgring, Gounon carried that progress into the Sachsenring weekend and delivered under pressure in qualifying despite the late red flag.
“Yeah, very good. As you said, Sachsenring has always been a track I loved. I won here 10 years ago, actually, which was my breakthrough moment to make it into a professional career, thanks to the Callaway [Competition Team] guys, Ernst, Giovanni and the whole team. I was really happy this morning after a good quali. Like Marco [Wittmann] said, it was not easy with the red flag. We didn’t queue up, so we had only one lap, which was a high-pressure moment because you know that if you don’t deliver, you’re basically back off the queue in the DTM. I was happy about that.”
Gounon praises turnaround after difficult DTM season
The podium carried additional significance for Gounon after a challenging campaign in which he struggled to understand several issues. However, he believes the work undertaken over the previous two race weekends helped turn the situation around. After making progress at the Nürburgring, Gounon felt he and the team finally returned to the level they expected at the Sachsenring.
“As I said before, to be honest, my season has been terrible. Not understanding a lot of issues. The last two weekends with the team, we managed to turn things around, change stuff, and we were there in Nürburgring. And we are here today, back where we wanted to be. So I’m really happy that as a team and as a crew, we didn’t give up. Every single weekend you come and you get hammered. At one point, it’s easy to just say, you know what? We stopped this and we go home, and we didn’t. So I’m happy we are back.”
Strong start puts Gounon into the fight for victory
Gounon immediately challenged at the front after the start of DTM Race 1 at the Sachsenring. With Preining facing the more difficult outside line into Turn 1, the Mercedes-AMG driver saw an opportunity to attack and move into second behind Wittmann. His pit-stop strategy later gave him a brief spell ahead of the BMW driver, but Gounon knew bringing the tyres into their optimum operating window would make defending difficult.
“The strategy was, of course, to try to follow Marco. I think in the Sachsenring, being on the inside line is always easier. So I knew that for Thomas [Preining], it would have been more difficult to fight on the outside. Also, when you’re fighting for a championship, I don’t think you want to be leaning on the outside in T1. So I knew I had the chance to really go for it at the start, and that’s what I managed to do it. We had an OK pit stop and then was in the lead for half a lap.”
“But I knew that it would have been difficult, as we are struggling with us, to put the left side tyre into the window. Marco had a very good exit on the last corner. I knew I had to brake late. Otherwise, I was really at risk for a dive bomb, brake a bit too late. And that’s my only shame of this race, I would say. Because if I could manage to stay a little bit longer, I think it was pretty much done, because the right side tyre were nearly there. So still, as I said, I’m happy to be back here. Of course, you want to win. That’s where you come from, you come for. But I’m still very happy today.”
Gounon tried to force Wittmann into a mistake
Once Wittmann regained the lead, Gounon remained close throughout the closing stages rather than dropping back to protect his tyres. He recognised that following the BMW so closely would hurt his front tyres, but believed maintaining constant pressure offered his best chance of victory. Meanwhile, Preining could manage his tyres from third before closing back towards the leading pair.
“Yeah, I knew that it wasn’t ideal to be so close to Marco, especially for my front tyres, because you destroy the tyre close. But I had no choice to try to put him under maximum pressure, which I tried to do the whole race. I think Thomas was very clever behind, trying to take a gap, save a bit your tyre and then coming back when us, we have been trying to push absolutely flat out all the time. So I think in third position, you are able to do those kind of strategy.”
For Gounon, the battle also demonstrated what he enjoys about competing in DTM, as the leading trio fought closely without crossing the line.
“My strategy was to try to push him to do a tiny mistake and then try to come close to try to pass him. So fair play to Marco, he didn’t put a foot wrong. And it was a great race. I think we were the three of us really tight, pushing, having some fair battles side by side. And that’s what I enjoy in DTM. When you have top drivers that respect each other, we can manage to do five corners side by side, where in some other championships it’s not possible.”
