After two winning race weekends in a row, Red Bull AlphaTauri AF Corse aimed to finish the 2022 DTM season on a high however Nick Cassidy and Felipe Fraga were forced to retire in the final race as the team finished seventh overall.
At the eighth and final Hockenheimring race weekend of the DTM 2022 season, excitement turned to shock for Red Bull AlphaTauri AF Corse as Kiwi Cassidy escaped a close call and was forced to retire in Race 1, while Brazilian Fraga faced a stunning turnaround in Qualifying for Race 2.
:”It’s not the weekend we expected or wanted as a team,” commented Cassidy. “It’s a shame, as actually I felt quite good in the car in Qualifying and I thought we maximised what we had, but obviously Race 1 was quite unlucky and ended early for us, along with our season.
“There’s not much more to say, except I think we did what we could. This year wasn’t easy, but there were some very big highlights as well – so I’m still proud, even though I have mixed emotions.”
With 10 drivers who mathematically had a chance to take the title on the final race weekend – five of them strongly in contention – there was always potential for a wild finale, and Race 1 was all that and more, with numerous crashes and tense restarts. Although Cassidy came into the season finale with two winning race weekends in a row, at Hockenheim his effort was collateral damage to the chaos.
As Cassidy navigated past a crash that saw the pieces of Norwegian driver Dennis Olsen’s Porsche blast out of a fireball, the Kiwi’s #37 Ferrari with the AlphaTauri livery was hit by Olsen’s engine, which had detached and sailed through the air.
Fortunately, the Ferrari’s many safety features did their job and Cassidy was unharmed, but through no fault of his own, the resulting damage forced retirement from the race and made it impossible to start Race 2 as Olsen was thankfully able to walk away from his car as well.
For once in an unlucky season, Fraga was unaffected by the mayhem and finished 13th then in Qualifying for Race 2, Fraga – who had two podiums across the season including his maiden DTM win at the Norisring – was flying.
His #74 Ferrari with the Red Bull livery set the fastest lap of the session, covering the 4.574-km Hockenheimring in just 1m 36.625s. But in the first corner after completing the blistering lap, a momentary loss of control saw Fraga crashing into the tyre stacks, and with only 2 minutes and 25 seconds left, the session was stopped and concluded.
As Fraga was responsible for the red flag, by the rules his pole was taken away, and with his Ferrari unable to race, the Brazilian’s day was done.
In their first full DTM seasons, Cassidy finished in 13th place overall and Fraga finished 16th. Unable to contend as expected at Hockenheim, Red Bull AlphaTauri AF Corse – which had been poised for a top three finish in the Team championship – closed the season in seventh.
Race 1 result, Hockenheimring
1/ Lucas Auer (AUT) – Mercedes-AMG Team Winward
2/ Sheldon van der Linde (RSA) – Schubert Motorsport
3/ Marco Wittmann (GER) ¬– Walkenhorst Motorsport
13/ Felipe Fraga (BRA) – Red Bull AlphaTauri AF Corse
24/ Nick Cassidy (NZL) – Red Bull AlphaTauri AF Corse
Race 2 result, Hockenheimring
1/ Marco Wittmann (GER) – Walkenhorst Motorsport
2/ René Rast (GER) – Team ABT
3/ Sheldon van der Linde (RSA) – Schubert Motorsport
DNS: Felipe Fraga (BRA) – Red Bull AlphaTauri AF Corse
DNS: Nick Cassidy (NZL) – Red Bull AlphaTauri AF Corse
2022 DTM Drivers Championship final standings
1/ Sheldon van der Linde (RSA) 164 points
2/ Lucas Auer (AUT) 153
3/ René Rast (GER) 149
13/ Nick Cassidy (NZL) 64
16/ Felipe Fraga (BRA) 60
2022 DTM Teams Championship final standings
1/ Schubert Motorsport – 226 points
2/ Mercedes-AMG Team Winward – 152
3/ ABT Sportsline – 152
7/ Red Bull AlphaTauri AF Corse – 129
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