However, the German manufacturer has retained all three of its full pro drivers for the year, with nine-time race winner Lucas Auer, Nurburgring and Macau GT victor Maro Engel and former GT World Challenge champion Luca Stolz all staying on in the category.
They will be joined in Mercedes’ 2024 DTM line-up by 26-year-old Arjun Maini, who was recently promoted to ‘Performance’ driver status in the marque’s factory GT roster.
The two drivers who have been dropped from Mercedes’ DTM programme are David Schumacher and Jusuf Owega, although both are expected to compete in other championships and races for the Stuttgart brand.
Schumacher, son of former Formula 1 and DTM ace Ralf, was widely expected to lose his seat in the DTM after two disappointing seasons that yielded just a single top-10 finish. The former Formula 3 race winner had also come under fire from other drivers for poor driving standards.
Owega, meanwhile, had a fairly successful rookie campaign after debuting at the age of 20, scoring points in half of the races and finishing 22nd in the championship.
However, there is no space for a fifth driver at Mercedes, with the Landgraf team that had expanded to the DTM after winning the GT Masters title in 2022 exiting ADAC’s flagship series after just a single year.
Source: Autosport