Who will be driving HRT’s two Ford Mustang GT3s in DTM 2026?

HRT will head into its second season as a Ford-backed team in the DTM this year. The team led by Ulrich Fritz has a three-year agreement with the American manufacturer and is even expanding its programme with a factory entry at Bathurst and participation in the Intercontinental GT Challenge. 

As for the DTM, the team is yet to announce who will drive its two Mustang GT3s.

“In terms of the driver question, we haven’t made any progress,” team principal and managing director Fritz told Motorsport.com’s sister title Motorsport-Total. “I think it’s very likely that Arjun Maini will continue. Everything else is open.” 

Maini has become an integral part of the HRT team. The Indian has driven for the Nurburgring-based squad since its Mercedes days in 2022, lives near Cologne and is a regular in the team’s workshop.

But while his place looks more or less secure, question marks remain over who will pilot the squad’s second car.

Scherer on staying: “Not all puzzle pieces together yet”

One definite candidate for the seat is Fabio Scherer, who raced for the team last year and came close to securing Ford’s first DTM podium at Spielberg.

“Considering he had zero GT3 experience and we couldn’t test with him because the decision came so late, he did a very respectable job,” Fritz said of the 26-year-old’s performance. 

“Also, working with him is fun, and he has character. Therefore, the logical conclusion would be to continue the collaboration. But we only have two cockpits — and it’s also a matter of financial conditions and sponsors.”

Scherer himself would like to stay with HRT in the DTM in 2026. “We are working on it, but not all the puzzle pieces are together yet,” the Swiss driver said when asked about his future. 

Fabio Scherer, Team HRT

Intensified US programme for Olsen

Last year, factory Ford driver Dennis Olsen was already touted as a strong contender for the HRT seat. Olsen’s big advantage is that he already knows DTM and the tracks used by the championship, having raced in the series from 2022-23 with Porsche. As such, he wouldn’t need to go through an adaptation period.

However, in 2026, Olsen will not only take part in the five endurance races of the IMSA SportsCar Championship, as he did in the previous year, he’ll contest the full championship. While the 29-year-old will not be driving for Ford in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) this year, he will be racing for HRT at the Nurburgring Nordschleife.

“You have to think about how much you can drive in a year,” Fritz said, seeing Olsen’s intense US programme as a hurdle. A return to the DTM in the HRT Ford, he said, is “not completely ruled out, but unlikely.”

Fritz on Schumacher: More likely in endurance

David Schumacher has been a Ford works driver for a year, drives for HRT in other categories and said in September last year that he would “very much like to drive the DTM again” alongside other GT3 series.

“He did a very good job again this year, both in the GT World Challenge and on the Nordschleife,” team boss Fritz said of Schumacher’s second year with HRT. 

Yet 2026 doesn’t look like the year he will make a comeback in the DTM: “At the moment, I see him more in endurance racing,” said Fritz.

Can ADAC GT Masters champion Wiebelhaus make the jump?

#65 HRT Ford Performance Ford Mustang GT3: Finn Wiebelhaus, Romain Andriolo, David Schumacher, Salman Owega

Then there is HRT Ford youngster Finn Wiebelhaus, who won the 2025 ADAC GT Masters title with team-mate Salman Owega — and is reportedly very interested in a DTM cockpit. 

The 19-year-old from Obertshausen would also save the team his DTM entry fee of over €109,000 as the winner of the Road-to-DTM Programme, but the step up to the DTM is significant. 

This was demonstrated by the ascent of 2025 ADAC GT Masters champion Tom Kalender to Landgraf Mercedes in the DTM. 

“The difference is that Finn already has two years of GT Masters behind him, a full season in the GT World Challenge, and is a bit more composed,” Fritz said, pointing out the difference to Kalender. And he admitted that a DTM cockpit for Wiebelhaus “is under discussion.” 

“If youth development and this pyramid system of the ADAC are supposed to work, then Finn has every right to race there too,” Fritz said, referring to the Road-to-DTM programme. But it is not yet decided whether the jump to the DTM will happen.

According to Motorsport-Total.com, Scherer is still the favourite for the cockpit, even though Wiebelhaus can realistically hope for it. Ultimately, the decision as to who will become Maini's HRT team-mate in 2026 will most likely come down to these two.

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