12:00 p.m.: I have a very early lunch, then I attend a meeting with my engineers where I analyze the morning’s telemetric data. Then a short 20-minute nap, as usual, before diving into qualifying.
1:50 p.m.: Time to qualify. Almost all of us have held off heading onto the track. Engine. During Q1 you don’t push it too hard or flirt with the red line, but try to clock a decent time and place in the top 14 to qualify for Q2. It would be stupid to make a mistake at this point in the heat and needlessly burn through a set of tires. I manage the 8th fastest lap: I could have done better, be we decided it would be sufficient to qualify for the second round. Unfortunately, the track “improved” quite a bit, and all the drivers who switched to a second set of tires passed me at the last minute. I fell back to 15th – just one spot short of the top 14! Qualifying ended there for me. I was very disappointed and frustrated, but these things happen.
3:00 p.m.: After this disappointing qualifying session, I was scheduled to meet several reporters for a series of interviews.
5:00 p.m.: Like at every event, we talk to the fans during a “Meet the Mercedes Drivers” event. Before a large crowd, we answer the questions of Florian König and Heiko Wasser, F1 commentators for the German TV network RTL. We then hold a very enjoyable autograph session. We always get a warm welcome at Hockenheim, and it’s nice to have so much public support.
6:00 p.m.: I meet with my engineers to discuss qualifying but also to prep for the race by analyzing data, etc.
7:30 p.m.: Mercedes organized an evening for its special guests. Three prestigious brand ambassadors are in attendance: Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard as well as famous German tennis player Boris Becker. A film is shown recounting the DTM season. I still haven’t completely recovered from my cold, and I prefer to head back to the hotel early. I’m in bed by 10:30.
Sunday, October 25:
7:45 a.m.: I get up. Today’s the big day. A glance out the hotel window tells me the weather is uncertain. Well, at least it’s not raining.
8:45 a.m.: I arrive at the track. All the drivers where to meet up in Tom Kristensen’s box, who was saying farewell to DTM on Sunday. After a souvenir photo shoot, it was time to get ready for the warm-up.
9:30 a.m.: En route to the warm-up session on a wet track. Time to try out two or three things in wet conditions, in case a shower takes us by surprise later.
11:15 a.m.: Pre-race meeting between Norbert Haug, vice-president of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, and the team drivers before the final where Mercedes still has a chance to clinch the drivers cup with Gary Paffett against Timo Scheider’s Audi.
12:15 p.m.: Quick lunch, then my traditional pre-race nap.
1:20 p.m.: Beginning of the start procedure: a few pace laps, then the driver parade with interviews in front of the Mercedes facilities in the “new” part of the track.
2:00 p.m.: Race start! The important thing when you’re starting in 15th place is to avoid potential crashes on the first lap, especially in the back hairpin after the parabolic curve. Which is exactly what happened between Maro Engel’s Mercedes and Martin Tomczyck’s Audi. But I manage to avoid the traps and at the end of the first lap I’m already in 9th place.
I move up to 8th and find myself behind Alexandre Prémat’s Audi. I look in vain for a way to pass him. Quick on the straightaway, he slows me down substantially, and voluntarily, at the entrance to the stadium so that I don’t constitute a menace to his team-mate Scheider, who’s racing for the title and whom I could have caught. We spontaneously decided to modify our strategy and move our first pit stop up. The team does a remarkable job with this first stop, only 2.9 seconds! What’s more, I have an open track in front of me when I exit the pits and I turn in one good lap after another without hindrance thanks to my team’s clairvoyance.
This second stretch is short: I stop again barely 8 laps later. I’ll have to manage a very long last stretch, as there are 22 laps to go with the same set of tires. The last five laps prove quite difficult for me, I have to deal with worn tires and a considerable lack of grip. Oliver Jarvis’ Audi passes me a few laps before the end, pushing me a little so that Jamie Green (Mercedes) manages to pass me too. I finish 7th. Not too satisfying, but considering I started 15th, not so bad all in all. I finish 4th overall in the series, and again it’s not the result I was hoping for, but with everything that happened this season it’s still pretty decent.
7:30 p.m.: The weekend ends with an end-of-season event organized by Mercedes where team-mates and their family can relax and unwind. A cooking contest was held, pitting two teams of two drivers against each other that had to cook the best meal under the watchful eye of local chefs. I was teamed up with Mathias Lauda, and we prepared brochettes of coquilles Saint-Jacques with a small salad. Unfortunately we were beaten by Ralf Schumacher and Susie Stoddard – it seems women still have the upper hand in the kitchen!
Take care,
Bruno Spengler
www.brunospengler.com
www.parcomega.com
photo:René Fagnan - Auto123.com & DTM
1:50 p.m.: Time to qualify. Almost all of us have held off heading onto the track. Engine. During Q1 you don’t push it too hard or flirt with the red line, but try to clock a decent time and place in the top 14 to qualify for Q2. It would be stupid to make a mistake at this point in the heat and needlessly burn through a set of tires. I manage the 8th fastest lap: I could have done better, be we decided it would be sufficient to qualify for the second round. Unfortunately, the track “improved” quite a bit, and all the drivers who switched to a second set of tires passed me at the last minute. I fell back to 15th – just one spot short of the top 14! Qualifying ended there for me. I was very disappointed and frustrated, but these things happen.
3:00 p.m.: After this disappointing qualifying session, I was scheduled to meet several reporters for a series of interviews.
5:00 p.m.: Like at every event, we talk to the fans during a “Meet the Mercedes Drivers” event. Before a large crowd, we answer the questions of Florian König and Heiko Wasser, F1 commentators for the German TV network RTL. We then hold a very enjoyable autograph session. We always get a warm welcome at Hockenheim, and it’s nice to have so much public support.
| ||
7:30 p.m.: Mercedes organized an evening for its special guests. Three prestigious brand ambassadors are in attendance: Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard as well as famous German tennis player Boris Becker. A film is shown recounting the DTM season. I still haven’t completely recovered from my cold, and I prefer to head back to the hotel early. I’m in bed by 10:30.
Sunday, October 25:
7:45 a.m.: I get up. Today’s the big day. A glance out the hotel window tells me the weather is uncertain. Well, at least it’s not raining.
8:45 a.m.: I arrive at the track. All the drivers where to meet up in Tom Kristensen’s box, who was saying farewell to DTM on Sunday. After a souvenir photo shoot, it was time to get ready for the warm-up.
9:30 a.m.: En route to the warm-up session on a wet track. Time to try out two or three things in wet conditions, in case a shower takes us by surprise later.
11:15 a.m.: Pre-race meeting between Norbert Haug, vice-president of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, and the team drivers before the final where Mercedes still has a chance to clinch the drivers cup with Gary Paffett against Timo Scheider’s Audi.
12:15 p.m.: Quick lunch, then my traditional pre-race nap.
| |
1:20 p.m.: Beginning of the start procedure: a few pace laps, then the driver parade with interviews in front of the Mercedes facilities in the “new” part of the track.
2:00 p.m.: Race start! The important thing when you’re starting in 15th place is to avoid potential crashes on the first lap, especially in the back hairpin after the parabolic curve. Which is exactly what happened between Maro Engel’s Mercedes and Martin Tomczyck’s Audi. But I manage to avoid the traps and at the end of the first lap I’m already in 9th place.
I move up to 8th and find myself behind Alexandre Prémat’s Audi. I look in vain for a way to pass him. Quick on the straightaway, he slows me down substantially, and voluntarily, at the entrance to the stadium so that I don’t constitute a menace to his team-mate Scheider, who’s racing for the title and whom I could have caught. We spontaneously decided to modify our strategy and move our first pit stop up. The team does a remarkable job with this first stop, only 2.9 seconds! What’s more, I have an open track in front of me when I exit the pits and I turn in one good lap after another without hindrance thanks to my team’s clairvoyance.
This second stretch is short: I stop again barely 8 laps later. I’ll have to manage a very long last stretch, as there are 22 laps to go with the same set of tires. The last five laps prove quite difficult for me, I have to deal with worn tires and a considerable lack of grip. Oliver Jarvis’ Audi passes me a few laps before the end, pushing me a little so that Jamie Green (Mercedes) manages to pass me too. I finish 7th. Not too satisfying, but considering I started 15th, not so bad all in all. I finish 4th overall in the series, and again it’s not the result I was hoping for, but with everything that happened this season it’s still pretty decent.
7:30 p.m.: The weekend ends with an end-of-season event organized by Mercedes where team-mates and their family can relax and unwind. A cooking contest was held, pitting two teams of two drivers against each other that had to cook the best meal under the watchful eye of local chefs. I was teamed up with Mathias Lauda, and we prepared brochettes of coquilles Saint-Jacques with a small salad. Unfortunately we were beaten by Ralf Schumacher and Susie Stoddard – it seems women still have the upper hand in the kitchen!
Take care,
Bruno Spengler
www.brunospengler.com
www.parcomega.com
photo:René Fagnan - Auto123.com & DTM