Max Verstappen’s protege Thierry Vermeulen lost a likely DTM victory at the Sachsenring because a mechanic left a tyre on the ground in the pitlane to adjust his glasses, incurring a long-lap penalty.
Emil Frey Ferrari driver Vermeulen had put in a dominant performance in the second leg of the weekend, edging out Kelvin van der Linde (Abt Audi) for pole position in qualifying and then building a three-second lead in the opening stint of the race.
After a safety car neutralised the field with just under 30 minutes to run, the Dutch driver rebuilt a buffer of almost two seconds over the chasing pack led by Mercedes’ Luca Stolz, only to be hit with a ‘penalty lap’ for a pitstop infringement.
Taking the long loop between Turns 1 and 2, the 22-year-old dropped to third behind eventual winner Stolz and Abt driver van der Linde, ending his hopes of a maiden DTM win.
The sanction was also painful for the Swiss squad, as it had a strong chance of completing a rare weekend clean sweep after Jack Aitken’s success in the opening race on Saturday.
Emil Frey’s head of engineering Jurg Flach revealed the bizarre reason as to why the penalty was handed to the team.
“During the pitstop, the person fitting the wheel must always have at least one hand on the wheel,” he explained in an interview with Autosport’s sister title Motorsport-Total.com. “Because he still had to adjust his glasses, that wasn't the case for a moment.
“He knows exactly what he did and would love to crawl under a rock [in embarrassment].
“Everyone who makes a pit stop knows that [rule]. There is no explanation [that] he doesn't know.”
Camera footage revealed that the said mechanic had entered the pitlane much later than the remainder of the crew and placed the tyre on his foot. It took him several seconds before he held the tyres with his hands again.
Due to safety reasons, the tyres must remain under control of mechanics after they cross into the fast lane to prevent any accidents.
This is not a new regulation in the series, as Thomas Preining lost a victory for a similar mistake on his Manthey EMA team’s part at Oschersleben last year.
The impact of the long-lap penalty, which cost Vermeulen around five seconds, was even more severe because the safety car that was called in for a three-way incident between Rene Rast, Jordan Pepper and Marco Wittmann had wiped out the advantage he had built after his pitstop.
“Otherwise he would probably have finished at least second despite the penalty lap,” Flach said. “That didn't play into our hands either. I feel very sorry for Thierry. It was his race.”
After serving the penalty, Vermeulen tried his best to repass van der Linde’s Audi but ultimately had to settle for third place.
While he missed out on a victory, the result still marked his first visit to the podium in the DTM since his debut in 2023.
“At that moment, you just try to get on the podium somehow,” he said.
“The lap before the penalty lap was like a qualifying lap for me. I gave it my all, but it wasn't enough to stay in second place or even win.
“There was so much rubber abrasion next to the racing line that it took me one or two laps before I could even think about following Kelvin.
“You win and lose together, but it really hurts. I need to let that sink in, at least for a few hours.”
