Overview
- Nicki Thiim leads the DTM title fight after two poles and two wins at the Norisring, and he arrives in Oschersleben with championship momentum and 20 kg of success ballast to carry into Saturday's race.
- Several GT3 teams publicly say the 2026 Oschersleben BoP has made their cars measurably slower, with Emil‑Frey citing a loss of more than 0.3 seconds versus 2025, McLaren reporting roughly 35 kg extra and big mid‑range boost reductions, and detailed BoP changes affecting weight, turbo boost and restrictor sizes.
- Manthey‑Porsche showed the clearest on‑track response by topping both free practices at Oschersleben, where Thomas Preining set the fastest laps and Porsche, Lamborghini and Mercedes formed the early pace group while some expected contenders were flagged as 'Sorgenkinder'.
- At the Hungaroring Ferrari underlined single‑lap speed when Charles Leclerc topped FP1 in 1:19.075, teams fulfilled mandatory rookie FP1 slots and McLaren ran its long‑awaited 'Macarena' rotating rear wing in a rookie test, but Aston Martin’s B‑spec AMR26 suffered a left‑rear suspension failure on Lance Stroll that ended his session.
- What to watch next: DTM race results and any FIA BoP tweaks will determine whether the current order holds or reverses, and in F1 teams must prove upgrade reliability and aero gains before development work pauses for the summer break.