Lucas Auer to remain with Mercedes despite Porsche interest

Nine-time DTM race winner Lucas Auer has struck a fresh deal with Mercedes for 2023 despite attracting interest from rival German manufacturer Porsche.

Auer’s future has been subject to much speculation with his existing contract with Mercedes expiring at the end of the calendar year.

It had been known for some time that he was keeping his options open and there was no certainty he would remain at Mercedes next year, with Porsche believed to be interested in his services.

However, on the back of his most successful season in the DTM in which he narrowly missed out on the title to BMW’s Sheldon van der Linde, Auer has inked a new deal with Mercedes to extend his stay with the Stuttgart-based marque for two years.

It is not clear which championships he would compete in, but it is expected that he will return to the DTM for an eighth season in nine years.

"I am very pleased that we have come to an agreement again after two successful years and that we will continue to walk our path together,” said Auer.

"It's still too early to talk about details. Because there are still final decisions to be made. But you can assume that you will see me again in the DTM. And engagements in other series are also planned. That could well be around 20 races in the coming season.”

Lucas Auer, Mercedes-AMG Team WINWARD

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

Auer drove for Mercedes from 2015 until the end of its factory participation in the DTM in 2018, scoring the first four of his nine wins during that stint, including three alone in ‘17.

After a brief foray in Japan with Red Bull to compete in Super Formula, the Austrian driver returned to the DTM in 2020 with BMW and helped the manufacturer score a race victory in an otherwise difficult season.

Auer reunited with Mercedes last year and has since been one of the marque's main challengers in the DTM, losing out on this year’s drivers’ title by just 11 points to van der Linde.

Apart from DTM, Auer also competed in GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, the Spa 24 Hours and the Rolex 24 at Daytona round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with the Winward team in 2022.