‘Almost like becoming world champion’: Winkelhock understands Verstappen’s Nürburgring dream

Long-time Formula 1 fans will likely recognise Winkelhock's name. In 2007, the German took part in a single F1 race - the European Grand Prix held at, yes, the Nürburgring. In his only race, he even had the lead for a while, before ultimately retiring.

In his home country of Germany, the Audi driver is best known from his time in DTM and the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring. Winkelhock has won that race on the Nordschleife no fewer than four times. They are the highlights of his long career. “Yes, absolutely. For me, winning a 24-hour race is almost the same as winning a championship,” the 45-year-old says in an exclusive interview with GPblog.

In a 24-hour race, the best or fastest driver doesn’t always win; many factors play a role. Of course, the machinery has to hold up, and you depend more on what happens around you than F1, for instance. If it comes down to pure speed, Verstappen has a good shot at victory with his Mercedes, according to Winkelhock.

At the same time, Winkelhock sees potential pitfalls for Verstappen. “I think he just needs to be careful when overtaking traffic. I think he may need to take it a little easier to survive the 24 hours. But even so, I think he has good chances to win this race.”

The fact that this will be Verstappen’s first time in such a long endurance race is a challenge. “That’s true, but I think he has shown that he can adapt very quickly. He is super fast and now knows the circuit very well," Winkelhock says.

For experienced drivers like teammates Lucas Auer, Daniel Juncadella, and Jules Gounon, that should be easier, Winkelhock believes. “If you’ve done this race ten times already and have more experience, that’s of course a big advantage. But if it’s a dry race, I don’t see any problems he’ll encounter at night. Only in changing conditions is more experience absolutely an advantage,” says the seasoned German.