David Schumacher’s DTM future uncertain after Winward contract expiration

Son of former Formula 1 and DTM driver Ralf, Schumacher left single-seaters after 2021 in favour of a career in sportscar racing, embarking on an ambitious project in DTM with Mercedes customer Winward.

However, after two lacklustre seasons that yielded just a single top-10 result, Schumacher’s stint in Germany’s top-most category could be coming to an end, with serious question marks hanging over whether he would be returning there for a third campaign in 2024.

Mercedes-AMG customer sport manager Stefan Wendl declined to offer any information when asked if Schumacher will be present on next year’s grid, where the German manufacturer will again have a sizeable presence with the AMG GT3.

"I can't comment on that yet,” Wendl told Motorsport.com’s sister title Motorsport-Total.com. “We are completely open about it. 

“David will decide for himself what the right direction is to develop yourself further. But everything is possible."

Asked what kind of programme will be suitable for Schumacher, Wendl said: “It would be best if he did everything, but of course it has to be feasible in terms of time and resources.”

However, despite a possible exit from DTM, Schumacher could remain part of the Mercedes fold next year following positive talks between the two parties at the German manufacturer’s end-of-season gala in Valencia.

“Just last week in Valencia we had very good discussions with David and his partners,” Wendl said on the sidelines of the Macau GT race.

"I'm very optimistic that we will hear news in the next few weeks.”

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

David Schumacher, Mercedes-AMG Team WINWARD

One option on the table for Schumacher is to fully focus on GT World Challenge Endurance Cup after a strong rookie season in which he finished third in Gold class, with victory at Nurburgring along with Milkas Born and Mariuz Zug being the highlight of his campaign.

The 22-year-old will also face far less media attention in GTWCE compared to the DTM, allowing him to further hone his skills in GT cars in a relaxed environment.

“David was very strong in the World Challenge, he was the lead driver. And in the DTM he was still a little unhappy here and there,” said Wendl.

Schumacher’s results in GTWCE were in stark contrast to those in DTM, where he finished down in 25th in the championship with just 16 points from as many races. Attempto Audi’s Mattia Drudi was the only driver to finish behind Schumacher in the standings among those who completed the season.

This was still an improvement over his rookie season in which he failed to score all year, albeit under the old points system which only rewarded the top 10 drivers in races.

Had the current system been in place, he would have scored eight points with a best finish of 11th at Spa.

Schumacher feels he made progress from his rookie season in the DTM, even if he felt he lacked the consistency to challenge for a top 15 finish on a regular basis.

“I believe that the development was definitely there [from 2022],” Schumacher told German broadcaster ran.de. “I heard that from a lot of people too.

“We had a difficult year in general with the team and also with AMG. We didn't just do it, there were always ups and downs."

Wendl feels Schumacher faced a lot of scrutiny in DTM, but expressed confidence in the capabilities of the German driver.

“In the DTM he has maximum pressure, has [multiple race winner] Lucas Auer as a team-mate, but he can basically do it,” he said.