The 2021 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters was the thirty-fifth season of the premier German motor racing championship and also the twenty-second season under the moniker of Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters since the series' resumption in 2000.

It was the first season of the DTM to be run under Group GT3 regulations, following the costly two-year "Class 1 Touring Cars" venture that led to Audi and BMW withdrawing manufacturer support from the series.

Maximilian Götz won the drivers' championship in the last race, surrounded by a controversy due to a first-corner collision between his rivals Kelvin van der Linde and Liam Lawson, as well as team orders imposed by Mercedes-AMG in the closing laps.

Rule changes Technical As a consequence of ruthlessly brutal raising costs, after two seasons raced under "Class 1" formula format, the series officially transitioned to FIA GT3 regulation, using its own Balance of Performance. The move from Class 1 to GT3 attracted more manufacturers and teams that couldn't previously compete in the series due to high cost. The Class 1 format cars and 2.0-litre (122 cubic inches) turbocharged inline-4 engines that were used in 2019 and 2020 were permanently retired. After 10 seasons, Hankook terminated its tyre supplier contract with the DTM despite being under contract until 2023. On 1 March 2021, it was announced that Michelin was to provide tyres for the 2021 season.

Sporting For the first time since 2001, the series no longer utilises standing starts for the commencement of races. Instead the series introduced its so-called "DTM formation start" in a rolling double-file formation.

Teams and drivers All teams competed with tyres supplied by Michelin. Manufacturer Car Engine Team Driver Status Rounds Audi Audi R8 LMS Evo Audi BXA 5.2 L V10 Team Abt Sportsline Team Abt 3 Kelvin van der Linde All 9 Mike Rockenfeller All 37 Lucas di Grassi 7–8 99 Sophia Flörsch 1–3, 5–8 Markus Winkelhock 4 Team Rosberg 12 Dev Gore 1–3, 5–8 Christopher Haase 4 51 Nico Müller All BMW BMW M6 GT3 BMW S63 4.4 L Twin Turbo V8 Walkenhorst Motorsport 11 Marco Wittmann All ROWE Racing 16 Timo Glock All 31 Sheldon van der Linde All Ferrari Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 Ferrari F154 3.9 L Twin Turbo V8 AlphaTauri AF Corse Red Bull AF Corse 23 Alex Albon 1–7 Nick Cassidy 8 30 Liam Lawson All Lamborghini Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo Lamborghini 5.2 L V10 T3 Motorsport 10 Esteban Muth All 26 Esmee Hawkey All 63 Mirko Bortolotti 6 71 Maximilian Paul 5 McLaren McLaren 720S GT3 McLaren M840T 4.0 L Twin Turbo V8 JP Motorsport 15 Christian Klien 3–4, 6 Mercedes-AMG Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 Mercedes-AMG Team HRT 4 Maximilian Götz All 5 Vincent Abril All 6 Hubert Haupt 4, 7 Mercedes-AMG Team Toksport WRT 7 Luca Stolz 4 Mercedes-AMG Team GruppeM Racing 8 Daniel Juncadella All Mercedes-AMG Team Mücke Motorsport 18 Maximilian Buhk 1–6, 8 Marvin Dienst 7 Mercedes-AMG Team Winward 22 Lucas Auer All 57 Philip Ellis All Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed 36 Arjun Maini All Porsche Porsche 911 GT3 R Porsche MA1.76/MDG.G 4.0 L Flat-6 SSR Performance 92 Michael Ammermüller 4 Icon Status Junior Guest drivers ineligible for points

Manufacturer changes Mercedes-Benz returned to the series after two years of absence, but acted as a privateer manufacturer. Ferrari, McLaren and Lamborghini joined the series for the first time, but acted as privateer manufacturers. Audi and BMW remained in the series, but acted as privateer manufacturers.

Team changes Hong Kong sports car team GruppeM Racing joined the series for the first time by fielding a Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo car. Italian sports car team AF Corse joined the series with backing from Red Bull and AlphaTauri by fielding two Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 machines. German sports car team Haupt Racing Team joined the series for the first time by fielding two Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo cars. American sports car team HTP Winward Motorsport joined the series for the first time by fielding two Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo cars. German sports car team ROWE Racing joined the series for the first time by fielding two BMW M6 GT3 cars. Polish JP Motorsport joined the series for the first time by fielding a McLaren 720S GT3 car, but only as a guest participant at three rounds. German sports car team T3 Motorsport joined the series for the first time by fielding two Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo cars.

Driver changes

Entering DTM Former Red Bull Formula One driver Alex Albon and Formula 2 driver and Red Bull Junior Team member Liam Lawson entered the series with the Red Bull-backed AF Corse team. Lawson contested the full season combining it with an entry in the Formula 2 Championship, while Albon was scheduled to compete in selected races where they did not clash with Formula One Grand Prix weekends due to his commitments as Red Bull Racing's test and reserve driver. Eventually, Albon only missed the final round at the Norisring, where he was replaced by former Super Formula, Super GT, and current Formula E driver Nick Cassidy.

Gary Paffett was set to come back to the DTM after a two-year absence driving for Mercedes-AMG Team Mücke Motorsport, with Maximilian Buhk standing in for him in two rounds due to Formula E commitments. He was eventually forced to abandon these plans because of the COVID-19 restrictions though, and Buhk saw out the season.

Leaving DTM Robert Kubica left the series after one season. Three times DTM champion René Rast left the championship for Formula E Audi full-time entry.

Race calendar A preliminary nine-round, eighteen-race calendar was announced on 6 November 2020; four rounds were to be held in Germany, with the remaining five held across Europe.

Igora Drive, Monza and the Norisring – all of which were scheduled to hold events in 2020, before their respective cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic – returned to the calendar, and the Red Bull Ring will hold a round for the first time since 2018. All circuits that held events in 2020 will return in 2021, with the exception of Spa-Francorchamps; Anderstorp and Brands Hatch will also not return, after their rounds were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Igora Drive was cancelled and DTM published a new calendar for the 2021 season. The inclusion of the Norisring round was uncertain as the season began in mid-June and it missed its traditional spot in early July, before it was re-added to the calendar to be held in October as the final round of the season.

Round Circuit Location Race 1Race 21 Autodromo Nazionale di MonzaMonza, Lombardy19 June20 June 2 Lausitzring (GP Circuit with Banked Turn 1) Klettwitz, Brandenburg 24 July25 July 3 Circuit Zolder Heusden-Zolder, Limburg 7 August8 August 4 Nürburgring (Sprint Circuit) Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate 21 August22 August 5 Red Bull Ring Spielberg, Styria 4 September5 September 6 TT Circuit Assen Assen, Drenthe 18 September19 September 7 Hockenheimring Hockenheim, Baden-Württemberg 2 October3 October 8 Norisring Nuremberg, Bavaria 9 October10 October Sources:

Results and standings Season summary Round Circuit Pole position Fastest lap Winning driver Winning team Winning manufacturer Junior winner 1 R1 Autodromo Nazionale di Monza Vincent Abril Liam Lawson Liam Lawson Red Bull AF Corse Ferrari Liam Lawson R2 Kelvin van der Linde Lucas Auer Kelvin van der Linde Team Abt Sportsline Audi Sheldon van der Linde 2 R1 Lausitzring (GP Circuit with Banked Turn 1) Sheldon van der Linde Sheldon van der Linde Philip Ellis Mercedes-AMG Team Winward Mercedes-AMG Liam Lawson R2 Philip Ellis Kelvin van der Linde Maximilian Götz Mercedes-AMG Team HRT Mercedes-AMG Liam Lawson 3 R1 Circuit Zolder Kelvin van der Linde Alex Albon Kelvin van der Linde Team Abt Sportsline Audi Esteban Muth R2 Marco Wittmann Nico Müller Marco Wittmann BMW Liam Lawson 4 R1 Nürburgring (Sprint Circuit) Kelvin van der Linde Kelvin van der Linde Kelvin van der Linde Team Abt Sportsline Audi Sheldon van der Linde R2 Alex Albon Christopher Haase Alex Albon AlphaTauri AF Corse Ferrari Esteban Muth 5 R1 Red Bull Ring Liam Lawson Esteban Muth Liam Lawson Red Bull AF Corse Ferrari Liam Lawson R2 Marco Wittmann Marco Wittmann Liam Lawson Red Bull AF Corse Ferrari Liam Lawson 6 R1 TT Circuit Assen Liam Lawson Mirko Bortolotti Marco Wittmann BMW Liam Lawson R2 Lucas Auer Mike Rockenfeller Lucas Auer Mercedes-AMG Liam Lawson 7 R1 Hockenheimring Kelvin van der Linde Alex Albon Kelvin van der Linde Team Abt Sportsline Audi Liam Lawson R2 Kelvin van der Linde Alex Albon Lucas Auer Mercedes-AMG Liam Lawson 8 R1 Norisring Liam Lawson Nico Müller Maximilian Götz Mercedes-AMG Liam Lawson R2 Liam Lawson Nick Cassidy Maximilian Götz Mercedes-AMG Sophia Flörsch

Scoring system Points were awarded to the top ten classified finishers as follows: Race Position 1st  2nd  3rd  4th  5th  6th  7th  8th  9th  10th Points251815121086421 Additionally, the top three placed drivers in qualifying also received points: Qualifying Position 1st  2nd  3rd Points321

Drivers' championship DriverMNZLAUZOLNÜRRBRASSHOCNORPoints1 Maximilian Götz 23 10 Ret 13 72 2 4 4 22 3 43 6 5 3 1 1 2302 Liam Lawson 1 132 2 22 Ret 3 13 Ret 11 12 31 23 43 231 NC1 2273 Kelvin van der Linde 4 11 42 3 11 8 11 Ret 5 6 12 4 11 101 42 172 2084 Marco Wittmann 8 5 7 6 53 11 53 33 7 21 12 32 Ret 11 12 7 1715 Lucas Auer 122 3 6 9 9 52 11 6 8 5 10 11 Ret2 12 63 2 1526 Alex Albon 3 7 5 11 3 6 Ret11 4 17 Ret 5 2 6 1307 Philip Ellis Ret 6 1 41 8 16 22 Ret 3 4 7 12 7 4 10 10 1298 Mike Rockenfeller 9 8 33 8 2 103 3 Ret 15 Ret 13 11 3 15 Ret 4 899 Daniel Juncadella 51 11 Ret 7 Ret 12 8 22 11 12 Ret Ret 6 5 7 5 7710 Nico Müller 7 2 13 10 10 4 7 9 Ret 14 Ret 8 Ret 12 8 15 5611 11 43 91 5 16 7 6 Ret Ret Ret3 6 Ret Ret Ret Ret 16 5512 Arjun Maini 13 Ret Ret 12 Ret DNS 10 13 63 7 Ret 13 Ret 83 2 6 4813 Esteban Muth 10 9 8 Ret 6 9 14 5 14 13 8 10 8 Ret 11 Ret 4114 Vincent Abril DSQ DSQ Ret 14 4 Ret 12 8 9 8 Ret 9 9 9 14 8 3415 Maximilian Buhk 6 12 10 18 Ret 11 Ret Ret 12 9 Ret 15 9 3 2816 Nick Cassidy 5 133 1117 Timo Glock 16 Ret 11 13 11 17 19 7 10 10 Ret 14 10 14 Ret 11 918 Sophia Flörsch 15 15 Ret 15 15 Ret 17 15 9 16 12 Ret 13 9 819 Marvin Dienst 11 7 620 Esmee Hawkey 14 16 Ret 16 13 13 17 11 16 16 11 Ret 14 16 Ret Ret 221 Christopher Haase Ret 10 122 Dev Gore Ret 14 12 17 14 15 Ret Ret DNS 17 16 17 16 14 023 Markus Winkelhock 16 14 0 Guest drivers ineligible to score points— Mirko Bortolotti 2 7 —— Christian Klien 12 14 15 12 5 Ret —— Luca Stolz 9 Ret—— Maximilian Paul 13 11—— Lucas di Grassi 15 Ret 15 12 —— Hubert Haupt 18 Ret 13 13 —— Michael Ammermüller Ret Ret —DriverMNZLAUZOLNÜRRBRASSHOCNORPointsBold – Pole Italics – Fastest Lap 1 – 3 Points for Pole 2 – 2 Points for P2 3 – 1 Point for P3

Teams' championship Team Points 1 Red Bull AlphaTauri AF Corse 368 2 Team Abt Sportsline 296 3 Mercedes-AMG Team Winward 281 4 Mercedes-AMG Team HRT 262 5 Walkenhorst Motorsport 171 6 Mercedes-AMG Team GruppeM Racing 77 7 ROWE Racing 64 8 Team Rosberg 55 9 Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed 48 10 T3 Motorsport 43 11 Mercedes-AMG Team Mücke Motorsport 34 12 Team Abt 8

Manufacturers' championship Only points scored by the top three drivers of a manufacturer in races count for the manufacturers' championship. Manufacturer Points 1 Mercedes-AMG 617 2 Ferrari 368 3 Audi 359 4 BMW 235 5 Lamborghini 43

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links