My 7th place showed clearly that we found the pace very early, even though in the second practice I fell behind a little. We had problems with the front splitter, which is extremely delicate, and goes through heavy shocks in Hockenheim. This showed clearly how important this part is for the balance of my car. My 9th place in the third practice session showed we were clearly on a good way this weekend. Once again I could count on my team for a great job in preparing the car. Therefore I have to say a big “Thank you so much for the great season” to everyone at the team.

For Qualifying my car was well balanced. Right until one minute to the end I was 11th. Unfortunately I got overtaken by 3 cars in the dying seconds of Qualifying. So I was 14th on the grid but very confident for the race. It was also positive to beat my team mate Ralf Schumacher for the fourth time in a row now.

The start to the last race of the Season was not as good as expected. As I let the clutch come, the revs went too low and I got overtaken by some cars. But in the second lap I managed to regain these places again. Then I had a really good three-way fight with Gary Paffet and Alexandre Premat. All three of us were close and sometimes we were very much on the verge of crashing. But until the end it was a good fight.

Through a clever strategy of my team I managed to pass Gary Paffet at the first pit stop. The team once again did a great job. The second pit stop was very good too, but this time Gary managed to overtake me as he stopped one lap before me. It was a good fight till the end between the champion from 2005 and myself. I think I really managed to put pressure on him. Unfortunately it was not possible to overtake him on the track. Classic slipstream duels are very difficult because of the aerodynamics. Once I was close enough, I lacked the down force in the fast corners. At the end I finished in 12thposition and I must say I very much enjoyed this race.

I am quite satisfied with my first DTM season. We have continuously improved. From race to race, we got faster, so it was nice to see the progress from race 1 at Hockenheim to race 11 at Hockenheim and I can really say that I was on one level with Gary Paffet this weekend. Unfortunately we were not always very lucky in races where a point scoring result was on the cards.

A Big thanks to the whole team again who have done a tremendous job this year, and also all my fans for supporting me so strongly. See you in 2009!

In Nuernberg, I had my best qualifying up to that point, qualifying in 12th position. The race was to be even better: In front of a sell out crowd and great summer weather I managed to move up to 9th position rapidly. I managed to stay there for a long time, and perhaps it was even possible to get my first point in 8th position, but in the closing laps I was fighting severe braking problems and had to back off my pace in order to make the finish. At the end I crossed the line in a season best of 9th – and thus for the first time in the Top 10.

The next stop on the 2008 DTM calendar brought us to the Dutch track in Zandvoort. After the success in Nuernberg this weekend unfortunately was a little disappointing. 17th in qualifying and a lot of bad luck in the race, which I finished in 14th position. A result, which definitely did not satisfy me. I tried to learn as quickly as possible from my mistakes and disappointment to come back stronger for the next race at the Nuerburgring already.

The race in the Eifel was to be remembered as a “Chaos Race”. I hadn’t been to the Nuerburgring for more than 6 years, Nevertheless, I found my line very quickly. In a crazy qualifying with very difficult weather conditions I kept my nerve and ended the session in 8th position. With great motivation and the target to get my first point, I went to the starting line. Unfortunately, Tom Kristensen as pole sitter drove a very slow green flag lap. All cars behind him had to fight with rising engine temperatures.

Shortly after the start the engine management switched off the engine to prevent engine damage. It seemed to take forever to restart the engine, after the engine finally started again I was in last place by a large margin. But I was not ready to give up so easily. After several laps I managed to catch up to the field again and passed some colleagues. That went well for so long, until Katherine Legge drove a maneuver that I still don’t understand: in the Coca-Cola curve, I was inside beside her, but she came closer and closer, until she finally hit me and we both ended in the gravel bed. Afterwards she said, she wanted to pit, but that was definitely not possible.

This crazy weekend was followed by the one-month summer break. Time to relax a bit and to visit family and friends, just like now during the winter break. I am taking this opportunity to have a holiday and to recharge my batteries for next season. Christmas, I will spend with my family and where I will celebrate New Year’s Eve is still open.

I wish all my fans a merry Christmas and a happy new year. In January, the third and final part of my season review will follow.

Your Maro.

With DTM round eight we came to a racetrack that I was very familiar with: Brands Hatch. Only one year before I drove there in Formula 3 and quite honestly, I felt like coming home. The track is short and not easy to drive, but in the practice sessions I felt really comfortable and managed to be the best placed 2007 C-Class in all sessions up to qualifying. In the actual qualifying Gary Paffet had a little more luck, and beat me narrowly. The whole team was looking forward to the race on Sunday. But things came a lot different than expected. Already at the second corner, I was pushed into a spin and had to rejoin the field in last position. During my first pitstop the next disappointment was soon to follow as the wheel gun at the front right broke just as the mechanic was trying to change the wheel. In moments like these there is not much one can do, nor the team nor myself are at fault and it was just one of those days as they say.

From England the trucks headed to Spain, more precisely to Barcelona. I had never been to this track in my career previously. So first of all I had to start with learning the track, which I managed very quickly. In qualifying again Gary Paffet was my benchmark, he managed to beat me by a tenth of a second. Reason enough to go highly motivated into the race. The slow puncture on lap 5 effectively ruined my race as this meant an extra pitstop to the 2 mandatory stops.

In Le Mans I experienced a weekend with very mixed emotions. In the second practice session a small error had very serious consequences for the rear of my car. I crashed heavily into the armco barrier and destroyed the entire rear of my car. After working all night my mechanics managed the impossible and repaired the car to hand me a car which was maybe even in a better state than before the crash. They really did a fantastic job! The guys are simply the best, it must be said. In the warm-up the next problem occurred, the gear sensor had given up. Until just before the start my crew was still working on the car. I thought that this time the mechanics would not managed to get it ready in time, but they managed once again. Unfortunately I could not reward all the hard work during the race as I had to pit 5 times due to the constantly changing weather conditions.

With these three rather negative experiences I travelled to the season final at Hockenheim. I wanted show my team and you, my fans, what I’m made of and come back strong. It was great to see the progress I had made during the season. I was 0.5 seconds quicker per lap on average. And also with the final race the luck came back again. With Gary Paffet and Alexandre Prémat I had some great fights, I put a lot of pressure on Gary, even swapping places and being careful that Prémat did not overtake me. This was pure Racing and was great fun. I think the three of us offered a great show to the fans.

All in all, I am satisfied with my first season in the DTM. After all, I recorded the most fastest race-laps of all Mercedes-2007 cars. Nevertheless, I know that I can and must improve. That is why I also started immediately with the training after a short vacation. Fitness is my primary focus during this winter period. Unfortunately I cannot announce my plans for 2009 yet, but I look to the future positively. As soon as I know more, I will let you know. But I am sure: we will see each other at the circuit.

CU Maro.