After a tough qualifying session, there was some light at the end of the tunnel for the Mercedes-Benz DTM team. Robert Wickens managed to claim his first podium finish in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, climbing all the way from 13th on the starting grid all the way to P3 at the end of the race held at the historic Brands Hatch circuit.

Gary Paffett was the guy who actually finished in P3, but he was slapped with a 5-second penalty after going past the speed limit in a sector during a yellow flag situation. That penalty bumped Paffett down to sixth, and Wickens moved up to the podium to join race winner Mike Rockenfeller and second-placer Bruno Spengler.

Christian Vietoris took eighth place, while Pascal Wehrlein managed to get his first point in DTM competition by finishing in tenth place.

Paffett, last year’s drivers’ championship runner-up, was clearly not pleased. “I just don’t understand this penalty,” said Paffett, who is currently in fourth place in the drivers’ standings. “I came off the accelerator when the yellow flags were out, but how am I expected to lose half a second inside ten seconds? In a championship race as tight as the DTM, every last point counts.”

The next race will be at the Red Bull Ring, on the weekend of June 1-2.