Nico Müller says he is ‘starting to get annoyed’ with Marco Wittmann’s criticisms, after the BMW driver was vocal about what he perceived to be Audi tactics in the weekend’s DTM races at the Red Bull Ring.
Müller and Wittmann traded positions several times during the middle phase of Sunday’s second DTM race in Austria, before Wittmann then accused Müller of backing him into title rival Mattias Ekström, who was running in fifth just behind the BMW at the time.
The duo became separated at the restart, where Wittmann was swamped by three rivals, but the two-time champion still felt aggrieved by Müller’s driving – considering it was an example of Audi tactics from a non-title contender – something which Müller fervently denied.
“Perhaps he should stop complaining for once,” said Müller. “I don’t know what he means. I overtook him on the track and when he is faster, he should overtake me again. That is possible.
“What more should I say? It is starting to get annoying.”
Thomas Biermaier, Team Director of Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline, also leapt to Müller’s defence in the wake of comments from BMW.
“He [Müller] drove superbly and it irks me that he’s being criticized by BMW in such an unfair way. He did nothing wrong or unfair.
“Apparently, some people have trouble dealing with the fact that they no longer have a weight advantage or a wider wing.”
Aside from Wittmann’s criticisms, Müller admitted to being pleased with his weekend’s efforts, which saw the Swiss racer claim his first podium of the season in third on Saturday before immediately following it up with the same result on Sunday.
“From position five on Sunday it was more difficult to finish on podium than on Saturday, so it was great that it worked out,” added Müller.
“I had a number of fantastic fights. Plus, we celebrated two one-two-three wins for Audi. I’m very happy that I was part of them.”
Müller also added a few words of praise for fellow Audi racer Jamie Green, who despite two pole positions and leading most of the races, missed out on victory twice.
“The strongest driver of the weekend was missing on Sunday: Jamie,” added Müller. “He would have deserved the 25 points.
“This year has been a bit slow for me, so that’s why Spielberg felt good. And I’m happy for my guys about the podium places. They worked hard for them.”