Mercedes junior Tom Kalender has written his name in the history books at the DTM race at the Nürburgring: he has broken the record set by Formula 1 driver Liam Lawson
Mercedes junior Tom Kalender needed a total of 28 attempts to celebrate his first DTM podium: in the second DTM race at the Nürburgring, the 18-year-old finished second on the podium behind race winner Marco Wittmann – thereby even breaking the previous DTM record held by Formula 1 driver Liam Lawson.
Kalender was just 18 years, four months and 20 days old when he stepped onto the DTM podium for the first time. This makes him the youngest DTM driver in the history of the series to secure a podium finish. The previous record had been held by the current Formula 1 driver for around five years.
Lawson was exactly 19 years, four months and eight days old when, on his DTM debut at Monza in 2021, he not only made it onto the podium straight away but also celebrated his maiden victory. Kalender has therefore beaten the previous record for the youngest DTM driver on the podium by almost a year.
“Yes, we had a good celebrate with the team,” grins the DTM youngster in an interview with ProSieben. “But at the same time, we naturally want to keep working. We want to improve, because we’re still waiting for that win. But the atmosphere was great, of course.”
Speaking of victory: The record for the youngest race winner is currently also held by Lawson. If Kalender wants to break this record as well, he would need to secure his first DTM victory by August 2027. When might that happen? “I hope very soon, perhaps even this year,” says the 18-year-old with plenty of ambition.
But Kalender isn’t the only driver to have made it onto this year’s list of the youngest DTM drivers on the podium: DTM rookie Finn Wiebelhaus in the HRT Ford and Ben Dörr (Dörr-McLaren) also made it into the top 10 with their podium finishes at Zandvoort and the Lausitzring.