Breaking news
DTM
Mercedes expects changes to DTM's ballast rules for 2016
Mercedes' head of DTM Ulrich Fritz conceded that the newly-introduced performance weight system was not "perfect" in the 2015 season - and suggested changes were to be expected for next year.
Valentin Khorounzhiy
Edited: Dec 22, 2015, 5:04 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The ballast rules were introduced from the Norisring round onwards and have come under fire from several sides of the paddock - with Mercedes driver Gary Paffett suggesting it helped BMW win the manufacturers' crown with the "worst car" and Audi's Mattias Ekstrom saying it was unfair to penalise the quickest drivers.
Fritz, whose team ran an average weight of 1123.8kg, compared to the basis of 120kg, Audi's 1127.2kg and BMW's 1109.6kg, said that the system will be reworked.
"We are always with discussion with the other manufacturers and the sanctioning body on how we can improve the sport and how we can improve the show for our fans," he told Motorsport.com.
"I think we have clear evidence that [the performance weights system] was not on a perfect level last year, so that will definitely be changed."
Race-by-race basis
Among the perceived drawbacks of the 2015 ballast regulations was that basing weights on the previous round's performance created significant swings in competitiveness.
Despite the fact that round-to-round ballast changes were capped at 10kg, they still made for drastic changes in the running order.
As a result, all three manufacturers followed up their best rounds of the 2015 season with dismal outings - with Audi's eight cars going from 159 points at Lausitz to 18 at Norisring, Mercedes dominating the latter round only to score 14 points at Zandvoort and BMW blitzing the opposition at the Dutch circuit before racking up just 11 points at Spielberg.
Fritz confirmed that the changes for 2016 would be aimed at reducing the effect and hinted that a switch from a round-by-round to a race-by-race basis was on the cards.
"The idea is not to have this seesaw effect - where you have these waves," he said.
"And one way of doing that would be to do it after each race in order not to get these big differences."
Interview by Sergey Bednaruk
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Mercedes considering Magnussen for 2016 DTM seat
Next article Top Stories of 2015; #9: 'Push Him Out' DTM scandal
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Valentin Khorounzhiy
WTCR's April opener cancelled due to coronavirus
WTCR
WTCR
Hungaroring
WTCR's April opener cancelled due to coronavirus
Australian GP issues update on nine F1 paddock coronavirus tests
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
Australian GP issues update on nine F1 paddock coronavirus tests
Motorsport Games unveils 15 disciplines for 2020
General
General
Motorsport Games unveils 15 disciplines for 2020
Latest news
Charles Leclerc reacts to Ferrari fear: 'We know what line not to cross'
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
35 min
Charles Leclerc reacts to Ferrari fear: 'We know what line not to cross'
Kyle Busch Remembered: Rowdy's wildest and most impressive Talladega moments
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
1 h
Kyle Busch Remembered: Rowdy's wildest and most impressive Talladega moments
Lamborghini World Finals PRO-PRO/AM Race 2: Leitch/Stasi dominate to seal title
Lamborghini Super Trofeo
LBST Lamborghini Super Trofeo
World Finals - Monza 2026
1 h
Lamborghini World Finals PRO-PRO/AM Race 2: Leitch/Stasi dominate to seal title
Toto Wolff reveals he is actively vetting “two or three people” to replace him at Mercedes
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
2 h
Toto Wolff reveals he is actively vetting “two or three people” to replace him at Mercedes
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe