Final trick
The long-awaited 24 Hours of Nürburgring ended with a cruel sporting trick for the Mercedes #3 crew. The quartet Verstappen-Gounon-Juncadella-Auer put on a show on the track and above all the four-time Formula 1 world champion fully lived up to the huge expectations that had accompanied him before this event, but despite a race largely dominated a technical problem – specifically a driveshaft failure – about three hours from the checkered flag forced the team to a very long pit stop that dropped the #3 from first position to 37th at the end of the race, 21 laps behind the winning car, the twin #80.
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No risks at the start
All eyes were naturally on Verstappen who was the protagonist of epic stints, giving a great show to the German public with some goosebumps-inducing overtakes. Perhaps a bit surprisingly, however, the first stint of the race, the start, was not done by the Dutch champion but by the Spaniard Daniel Juncadella, a true endurance racing veteran who also boasts a win at the 24 Hours of Spa. In an interview given to the Spanish site SoyMotor Juncadella told a funny behind-the-scenes story, revealing that it was actually Verstappen who asked him to take care of the first stint of the race. The Dutchman was indeed worried about taking too many risks during the opening phases of the race.
“Friday evening, after qualifying, (Max) came to me and said: ‘Better that you start, because I know myself and it’s 24 hours. It’s the first lap, we’re fourth and I’ll want to start battling with everyone. Better that you start’. For me it was fantastic to feel this trust from him and the fact that he wanted me to take care of the start“. Verstappen certainly did not give up taking risks in his stints, but in the end it was not his aggressiveness that dashed the hopes of victory for Mercedes #3.
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