The fan favorite, Ralf Schumacher, will still race and represent Mercedes-Benz for the 2012 DTM season. He will just continue with the great performance that he did for the 2011 season, his two podium finishes in Hockenheim and Austrian circuit of Spielberg. Since the new season has not started yet, Schumacher is busy getting involved with the testing and developing for the new DTM AMG Mercedes C-Coupe. He drove the race at the Lausitzring last October 12-13, which is also where gary Paffett tried the car in September this year. He is scheduled to test the car again before the end of the year.

“DTM is a fantastic championship and, after four years as part of the Mercedes-Benz family, I feel in the best place possible. So I’m all the more delighted to be starting a new era next year together with Mercedes-Benz. With the new technical regulations and the arrival of BMW on the scene as the third premium manufacturer alongside Audi and Mercedes-Benz, DTM has an exciting future, and I feel privileged to be playing my part in development of the new DTM AMG Mercedes C-Coupé. My first impressions from testing are positive, and I’m very excited about racing this car next year. At the start of this season, I was determined to take the next step forward in my DTM career, and I feel I have accomplished that by finishing on the podium twice – at Hockenheim and Spielberg. During testing this winter, we intend to lay the groundwork to ensure that I can improve my results even further with the new C-Coupé in 2012,” the driver said.