GREEN RETAINS AUDI DTM SEAT
Jamie Green has been re-signed at Audi for DTM in 2019, ensuring that Britain will be represented in the German tin-top series as reigning champion Gary Paffett departs the series and Paul di Resta has no confirmed seat.
Green, 36, has 177 starts and 16 wins in the series, while a title still eludes him after a best finish of second in 2015.
The Leicester driver was hit hard by the new rules in 2018, which aimed to reduce aero, which Audi had an advantage in. He failed to win a race and finished last in the standings while Team Rosberg team-mate Rene Rast took seven wins – more than his title winning year in 2017 – and second in the championship.
“We already had an extremely strong driver squad in 2018,” said Audi’s head of motorsport Dieter Gass.
“In my view, they’re the right six for Audi Sport. All of them have the potential to battle for the DTM title.
“Aside from that, they again proved to be extremely good team players last season.
“In the past, we changed the team compositions from time to time.
“However, in the current pairings, the drivers complement each other perfectly so that we didn’t see any room for improvement in this respect.”
This season will be the first that Paffett hasn’t started in DTM since 2002, making 185 starts, taking 22 wins and two championships in 2005 and 2018.
He has confirmed that he would like to drive in the series next year in a one-off outing.
“I actually mentioned it to Uli Fritz [HWA boss] after Hockenheim that I want to come and do a guest race next year just so I can race with a #1 on my car,” he said.
“He did consider it, but maybe not… But I think if I push hard enough something good can happen.”
That appearance would have to come in the Aston Martin team – new for 2018 and run by the same HWA outfit that ran Mercedes’ DTM entry – and that is also a potential landing spot for di Resta.
The Scot finished third in the championship with Mercedes last season, and is one of a number of drivers linked with the Aston seats along with out-of-work Formula 1 driver Sergey Sirotkin. Red Bull F1 reserve Jake Dennis, GP3 driver Jake Hughes and Porsche junior driver Thomas Preining all tested with HWA in Jerez last year.