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Mercedes switch "lot tougher than I thought", says Mortara

Last year's DTM runner-up Edoardo Mortara says his first season with Mercedes after moving away from Audi has been more difficult than expected, as the two manufacturers are "completely different worlds".

Edoardo Mortara, Mercedes-AMG Team HWA, Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM

Edoardo Mortara, Mercedes-AMG Team HWA, Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM

Alexander Trienitz

Edoardo Mortara, Mercedes-AMG Team HWA, Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM
Edoardo Mortara, Mercedes-AMG Team HWA, Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM, Mattias Ekström, Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline, Audi A5 DTM
Loic Duval, Audi Sport Team Phoenix, Audi RS 5 DTM, Edoardo Mortara, Mercedes-AMG Team HWA, Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM
Edoardo Mortara, Mercedes-AMG Team HWA, Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM
Edoardo Mortara, Mercedes-AMG Team HWA, Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM
Edoardo Mortara, Mercedes-AMG Team HWA, Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM
Pit stop, Edoardo Mortara, Mercedes-AMG Team HWA, Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM
Edoardo Mortara, Mercedes-AMG Team HWA, Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM
Edoardo Mortara, Mercedes-AMG Team HWA, Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM

The Italian ended a six-year relationship with Audi after missing out on the DTM title by four points in 2016.

However, the start to his first season with Mercedes has been less successful, Mortara sitting 13th in the standings with a best finish of fourth at Hockenheim after the first three rounds.

Mortara admitted adapting to the Mercedes operation has been "a lot more difficult than I thought".

"[My season is] not going great, to be honest, it is a lot tougher, the adaptation is quite a lot more difficult than I thought," he told Motorsport.com.

"[Mercedes and Audi are] two completely different worlds, for sure not the same, and it is taking me really quite a lot of energy and time to get used to it.

"I am not happy, not satisfied with what I am doing at the moment, but just need some time to relax a little bit and try to do a good job."

While Mortara kicked off the season with 15 points in the opening round at Hockenheim, he then only scored six points combined at Lausitz and the Hungaroring.

"Hockenheim was good but for some reason, we started to struggle quite a lot in Lausitz already and here [Hungaroring] also," Mortara added.

"Especially in qualifying I am not finding the right confidence with the car to put in the front, but the race is always getting a little bit better so I am moving up but at the moment it is tough.

"I was not expecting to struggle [in Hungary] because in the past normally I've been pretty competitive, taking pole positions, winning races.

"I actually looked forward to this race weekend but it turned out to be a lot more difficult for me."

Breakthrough possible any day

Mortara is 49 points behind points leader Rene Rast after three rounds, but the Italian doesn't think his season should be written off yet, as finding the right setup "could be the beginning of a new season".

"You never know, it is a question like finding the right settings and we experiment a lot of them to find the solutions," he said.

"At the moment we still didn't find it, but [when] we find them that could be the beginning of a new season for me. I am optimistic we can put the finger on what is going on."

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