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Preining Shares Funny Reason He Let Team-Mate Feller Pass
Highlights
- Thomas Preining won his second DTM championship at Hockenheim finale
- Preining finished third, yielding second place to teammate Ricardo Feller
- Preining joked about foot cramp causing him to let Feller pass
- Team orders banned since 2022, drivers use creative reasons instead
- Preining started seventh, cautiously avoided crashes, and advanced rapidly
- Both drivers celebrated Preining’s title and season-ending podium
Thomas Preining secures a second DTM title at the Hockenheim finale, finishing third after yielding second to teammate Ricardo Feller on the last lap, joking about a foot cramp.
The swap highlights DTM’s post-2022 ban on team orders. Drivers now lean on plausible explanations. A day earlier, Lucas Auer ceded position to Maro Engel under similar circumstances.
Preining rejects the idea of a deliberate team instruction, stressing his points cushion was ample. He notes even 10th would have sealed the crown despite rivals threatening his campaign.
“Foot cramp” is the lighthearted explanation for the final-lap swap, underlining the series’ no team orders environment since 2022.
Starting seventh, Preining vaulted to fourth on lap one. He drove conservatively, prioritising risk management over aggression in what he called a chaotic carbon midfield.
He moved to third as others clashed ahead, then passed Porsche stablemate Buus for second before the first stops to consolidate control of his race.
Manthey’s approach front-loaded used tyres to bank grip for a potential late neutralisation. Engel’s Winward Mercedes placed fresher rubber mid-stint, but Preining remained untroubled by Engel’s pace.
Manthey offset tyre life early, gambling on late-race grip if a safety car emerged at Hockenheim.
Preining preferred a gap to Engel rather than shadowing him. With Feller on the same strategy behind, the risk profile dropped versus battling Mercedes pressure.
Feller held station and did not attack. When Preining’s “cramp” surfaced on the final tour, Feller swept by, taking second without clarity on the reasoning at the time.
Feller gained four extra points for second, but the swap did not influence the final championship order.
The difference, 20 points for second versus 16 for third, carried no title implications. Preining’s advantage rendered the final-lap change immaterial to the championship outcome.
The episode adds a humorous coda to a tense season. It also illustrates how teams operate within the letter of the rules at the Hockenheim season finale.
Both drivers ended on the podium and celebrated Preining’s crown, a result built on measured aggression, strategic tyre offsets, and clean execution under pressure.
Visual Summary
💥
🏆
🦶 “It was just a cramp in my foot!”
PRE
3rd Place 🔥
(all he needed!)
(all he needed!)
2x
DTM Champion
DTM Champion
Preining
🦶😅
Team spirit > Team orders ✋🚫
Preining sealed the title atop the Hockenheim mountain—
with a smile, a helping hand, and just a touch of “cramp” comedy.
Manthey Porsche celebrates.
🏁🎉
with a smile, a helping hand, and just a touch of “cramp” comedy.
Manthey Porsche celebrates.
🏁🎉
Zane Muniz writes across NASCAR, IndyCar, F1, IMSA, NHRA, and dirt-racing news. His breaking-news alerts and event previews ensure motorsport fans never miss a lap, drift, or drag-strip showdown.
