This past weekend, the DTM (German Touring Car) series visited Spielberg, Austria for some intense racing at the Red Bull Ring. On the last lap of the race, Audi’s head of motorsport, Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, let his adrenaline-filled impulses get to him and shouted “Schieb ihn raus!” over the radio to Timo Scheider, meaning “Push him out!”

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Scheider made contact with Robert Wickens, who then made contact with Pascal Wehrlein, sending them both into the gravel trap. Did Audi really tell Scheider to oust his rivals? Ullrich was asked that after the race, and he confirmed that he did say those words, only to back off minutes later during the post-race press conference. In the press statement issued that same evening, Ullrich claimed that he “didn’t know the radio was open.” It’s just kind of weird that, seconds before Scheider tapped Wickens, Ullrich came on the radio and said the now-infamous words.

When the stewards analyzed the situation and all usable data, they came to the conclusion that Scheider had deliberately tapped Wickens’ Mercedes in front of him. Scheider, on the other hand, claimed to not have heard a radio call before the incident. This dispute could go on for some time, as the stewards have referred the incident to the German Motor Sports Association (DMSB) for further investigation. The final word will be had by the appeal court, hopefully sometime before the next DTM race in Moscow at the end of August.

When the media met up with the outspoken series leader, Pascal Wehrlein, he said, “I would say Audi has started a big war. I hope they will have big consequences. I hope everyone is writing about this situation and I hope that no one is buying an Audi next week.”

We can definitely see why Wehrlein is really upset about the situation; it was a dirty move. However, in Wehrlein’s favor, Scheider was stripped of his sixth place finish for purposely causing an accident. There are a lot of questions that need a lot of answers. We will definitely report back when we hear the final verdict. Keep it clean out on the track, fellas!