Scheider: I braked as normal

Following his dramatic race two exclusion, Audi's Timo Scheider maintains he braked 'as normal' heading into turn three and questions whether Robert Wickens did the same.

Simon Evans

03 Aug 2015

Audi's Timo Scheider is adamant he kept to the same braking point prior to making contact with Mercedes' Robert Wickens during yesterday's dramatic second DTM race at the Red Bull Ring.

The pair clashed when Scheider's RS 5 ran into the back of Wickens under braking for the tight right hander of turn three. The Audi driver has questioned whether the Canadian decelerated normally for the corner since the contact, which also took Pascal Wehrlein out of the race.

"Towards the end, two Mercedes drivers attacked me hard and overtook me. I braked on entering the next turn, as always, but the car in front of me apparently didn't, so I caught him [Wickens]," said Scheider.

The Team Phoenix driver has since been disqualified from the result for his part in the collision while Audi have also been accused of issuing Scheider with an 'unsporting instruction' via a radio message from the pit-wall.

Scheider has accepted his exclusion from the race but the case surrounding the radio transmission [schieb ihn raus] - delivered, amazingly by Audi boss Dr Wolfgang Ullrich - will be heard by the DMSB's court of appeal at a later date.

Audi argue that message wasn't a direct instruction but an outcry of emotion shouted by Ullrich in the heat of battle without releasing his radio was transmitting to the car.

In any case, Scheider said he did not hear the call from Ullrich during the race.

"I didn't hear any instruction. Robert braked so hard that I ran into him. That was racing on the edge, something like that can happen."

The cry from the pit gantry came after Wickens and Pascal Wehrlein seemingly coordinated a shrewd piece of race-craft designed to move Wehrlein up into sixth in aid of championship aspirations.

Despite the contact, the former double champion clarified that it was not his intention to slam into the back of Wickens and eliminate both Mercedes C63's out of the race.

"Both cars slipped off track afterwards was certainly not my intention," the 36-year old continued.

"I'm very sorry for Robert (Wickens) and Pascal (Wehrlein). I know exactly how you feel in a situation like that. I have to accept the exclusion from the classification."