Mercedes will face its last season in Germany's premier tin top racing series with an old friend of the house at the helm. Pascal Wehrlein, the last driver to win the championship for the silver arrows back in 2015, is officially back in the DTM.
Wehrlein moved to Formula 1 for the 2016 and 2017 seasons with Manor and Sauber respectively, but following Sauber's announcement of Alfa Romeo backing and stronger ties with Ferrari, Wehrlein lost out to Formula 2 champion Charles Leclerc.
On Wednesday Mercedes confirmed four out of its six drivers for the 2018 DTM season, but had been teasing a big announcement regarding the last two seats available.
With Wehrlein shuffled out of the F1 musical chairs game, but still a part of of the Mercedes driver stable, today's confirmation was less of a surprise and more of a triumph of common sense.
Wehrlein made his DTM debut in 2013 with Mercedes, won his first race the following season at Lausitz and took the drivers' championship in 2015, adding a further two wins to his resume. This ended a championship drought for the silver arrows that dated back to 2010 with Paul di Resta.
This leaves only one more seat open in the series. An announcement from Mercedes regarding the DTM's 18th entry is expected soon.
