Gary Paffett (left) won his second Drivers' Championship while 2017 DTM champion René Rast (right) finished second in the championship.
The 2018 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters was the thirty-second season of premier German touring car championship and also nineteenth season under the moniker of Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters since the series' resumption in 2000. 2018 would be the final season for the traditional 4.0-litre V8 naturally-aspirated engine package that debuted in the inaugural reborn season; as the brand new engine package has been introduced for the following season as part of the "Class 1 Project" prospect with Japanese Super GT GT500 cars.[1] 2018 also marked the final season for Mercedes-Benz in DTM due to Mercedes-Benz departing to FIA Formula E from the 2019–20 season and thus ended its 19-year participation.[2]
Gary Paffett won his second title at the final round of the season with a third-place finish, beating previous champion René Rast by four points despite a late charge to six consecutive wins by Rast, a new series record.[3]
Paffett became the second non-German driver to have won more than one DTM driver title, and thus repeating Swedish driver Mattias Ekström's feat in 2004 and 2007 seasons.
Mercedes-Benz won the manufacturer's championship for the first time since 2010.
Aerodynamic downforce aids, such as side winglets and side fences, has been enforced to all cars, in order to improve competition.[4] As a result, the minimum weight of all cars has been reduced from 2,480 lb (1,125 kg) to 2,458 lb (1,115 kg).[5]
The quantity of engine components a driver may use during the season has been increased from seven complete engines during the entire season, to a new system where each of the engine components are combined. Therefore, in 2018, each driver is permitted to use up to eight set engines.[5]
The additional wildcard entry is introduced for the first time ever, but ineligible for championship points even if they finish in top 10.
The races in Great Britain and Italy are scheduled to return to the DTM schedule for the first time since 2013 and 2010 respectively. On 6 December 2017 it was confirmed that the British round would be held at Brands Hatch, on the circuit's GP layout as opposed to the Indy layout of previous DTM races.[8]Moscow Raceway was dropped from the 2018 schedule.[9] For the first time, Misano will host the round in Italy, as a night-time event.[10] The Lausitzring round will revert to full road course layout after last used in 2004.[11]