Mercedes reveals 18-driver factory line-up for GT3 racing

Aron, who has mostly focused on his Prema management duties since finishing sixth in the 2018 European F3 season, will compete in GT World Challenge Europe, the GT Masters series and the Nurburgring 24 Hours as a Mercedes junior driver.

During his three seasons in the DTM-supporting regional F3 series, the Estonian scored a total of five victories and one pole position, and he also bagged a podium finish on his debut in the Macau GT3 race in 2017.

He is one of the three new additions to Mercedes’ GT3 line-up for 2023, joining Jordan Love and Jusuf Owega.

Love will compete in GT World Challenge Australia as part of a domestic campaign, while Owega will get to race in the DTM in his first season with the German manufacturer, joining Team Landgraf.

Ralf Aron, Team LeMans

Photo by: Masahide Kamio

A total of 18 drivers will represent Mercedes in official capacity in GT3 championships around the world, 11 of which under the status of ‘Performance driver’.

The list includes GT3 stars such as Raffaele Marciello, Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella, DTM stars including Lucas Auer, Luca Stolz, Maro Engel and Maximilian Gotz.

2021 DTM champion Gotz, however, won’t continue in the series this year, with Mercedes instead revealing that he will compete in GT World Challenge Asia and select rounds of IMSA SportsCar Championship.

Mikael Grenier and Fabian Schiller have been promoted to ‘Performance Driver’ status after serving as junior racers in 2023.

The team’s Junior driver line-up will comprise newcomers Aron, Love, Owega, plus incumbents Arjun Maini and David Schumacher.

“For 2023, we have added a few talented and fast guys to our strong driver line-up that has delivered undisputed top-notch achievements once again in the past season,” said Stefan Windle, head of Mercedes’ customer racing department.

“With Ralf Aron, Jordan Love and Jusuf Owega, we welcome three new up-and-coming members into the World’s Fastest Family, all of them having proven their talent already and now able to continue their development as Junior Drivers at Mercedes-AMG. 

“As a result, we are confident to be an in excellent position for the new season and we are looking forward to thrilling motorsport moments and plenty of joint success.”

Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing, 2023 driver line-up: