Spielberg, 5 September, 2021

Liam Lawson and the Red Bull AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 wrapped up the fifth round of the DTM at Spielberg in Austria with two wins from two races. This puts the New Zealander back in second place in the championship standings, just 12 points off the leader.

Race 1
Starting from pole, Lawson executed a flawless race, holding off the attempts of Gotz in the Mercedes to pass the leader of the Junior standings. The 488 GT3 Evo 2020 of Red Bull AF Corse thus secured its second season victory after the opening round at Monza. The AlphaTauri-liveried Ferrari driven by Alex Albon, winner of the previous race at Nürburgring, on the other hand, made a splendid comeback to fourth place. The Thai driver, starting from eighth on the grid, passed many rivals to finish just off the podium. Only a contact with championship leader, Kelvin Van der Linde, prevented a final assault on Ellis, third under the chequered flag in the Mercedes.

Race 2
It was a similar story in the final round of the Austrian weekend, with the #30 Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020, despite 25kg of additional ballast, starting from the front row and putting in another perfect performance. Spending the early laps in the slipstream of poleman Marco Wittmann, Lawson made the mandatory pitstop a lap after his rival, returning to the track ahead of the BMW driver. From that point on, the New Zealander managed a lead of between five and eight tenths, proving once again that he could handle his rivals’ pressure. On the other hand, after a good recovery from ninth place in qualifying, Albon suffered a puncture that ruled out the podium finish that had seemed within his reach. The AlphaTauri AF Corse driver finished the race in seventeenth.

Standings
This result, and sixth place in Race-2 for Kelvin Van der Linde, still leader on 147 points, narrows the gap in the drivers’ standings. After this weekend’s double triumph, Lawson is back in second position 12 lengths behind the South African, while Albon is sixth on 94. Red Bull AlphaTauri AF Corse leads the way in the teams’ ranking with 229 points against 208 for ABT.

... Race Results >>>