Felix Rosenqvist has been retained by the Mercedes-AMG DTM team for the next round of the championship at the Nürburgring on September 9-11, getting his second race outing in the German touring car series.
Rosenqvist put in a resilient performance on his DTM debut at Moscow Raceway last weekend, overcoming heavy rain at the Russian venue to finish tenth in the Saturday race. In doing so, he became the first Mercedes driver since Paul Di Resta (GBR) in 2007 to score a point at the first time of asking, and only the third of any marque to do so since 2012.
“I’m obviously pleased to get another outing in the DTM,” says Felix Rosenqvist. “We sat down after the weekend in Russia, and Uli Fritz (Head of Mercedes-AMG DTM) told me that I’ll be driving again at the Nürburgring. Scoring a point in Moscow was a very good start, and more than I expected, so I will take it from there and try to do a good job again in the Eifel.”
Between his extended DTM commitments, continued Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup racing and his recently-announced move into the all-electric FIA Formula E Championship, Rosenqvist’s hectic schedule means he will now call off the remainder of his campaign in the US-based Indy Lights series in a decision made jointly with his team Belardi Auto Racing.
Two rounds remain in Indy Lights, in which Rosenqvist has won three times this season, with the penultimate meeting at Watkins Glen clashing with Formula E preparations and the Laguna Seca finale taking place on the same weekend as the Nürburgring DTM event.
“I’ve had a fantastic time in the US this year, and it’s been a really great and interesting experience,” Rosenqvist continues. “It’s a shame not to see out the season, but it’s just a logistic impossibility. I would like to thank Belardi Auto Racing for all their efforts this year; it’s a great team, and I hope we will find a way to work together again in the future. In the meantime I wish them continued success.”
Felix Rosenqvist is engaged in official pre-season Formula E testing at Donington Park (GBR) this week, completing his first day of public running with Mahindra Racing on Tuesday to end up seventh quickest among 18 drivers present.
“It’s been good so far,” Rosenqvist concludes. “We’re mainly working on reliability this week and on making sure all the systems work. It’s difficult to know what everyone else is doing, so we’re just sticking to our plan. The Formula E car is different to the other cars I’ve driven in terms of power curve and sound, but at the end of the day you are doing the same thing: pushing hard and trying to brake as late as possible. I really like it so far and hopefully we can have another two productive days here.”
Formula E testing continues at Donington Park on Wednesday and Thursday, with Rosenqvist then travelling straight on to Budapest (HUN) for this weekend’s Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup round at the Hungaroring.
MORE
Read a Q&A with Felix Rosenqvist about the first day of Formula E testing at Donington Park
Watch an interview with Felix about his DTM foray, conducted during last weekend’s round in Moscow