Teammate Juncadella reveals what makes Verstappen truly special to him
Max Verstappen, Dani Juncadella and Jules Gounon won NLS2, although they were later disqualified - Photo: GPblog
Updated: 19:08, 25 Apr
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Ludo van Denderen is a motorsport journalist at GPblog, specializing in Formula 1 and international racing series.
Since becoming a Verstappen Racing driver, Daniel Juncadella has been in the spotlight. The Spaniard couldn’t care less; in his dealings with Verstappen he finds something completely different important: “It’s not so much about the exposure it's giving me on social media, it's that I value him as a friend."
It was telling. When requesting this interview with Genesis—the newest hypercar team in the World Endurance Championship (WEC)—the response was that they had already expected a lot of interest in Daniel Juncadella. After all, the Spaniard is also one of the drivers with whom Max Verstappen is competing in the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring this season.
Juncadella appreciates Verstappen as a person
Everything and everyone around the former Formula 1 world champion’s adventure has become news: Juncadella included. “For me, I think nothing changed. It attracts more media attention and Instagram is exploding,” the Spaniard tells GPblog in an exclusive interview.
“I like sharing things with Max. It's not so much the exposure that it's giving me on social media or Instagram or whatever, it's that I value him as a friend. He's someone that I've known for years already, but we share a lot of stuff, and speak every week about random stuff, like personal stuff and fun things.
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Max Verstappen on the NLS podium with Daniel Juncadella and Jules Gounon - Photo: GPblog
"He's someone that wants to compete, but he also wants to enjoy [racing], he wants to have fun. I think he enjoys being around me and Jules [Gounon] a lot because we don't talk about Formula 1. We don't speak about probably the things that everybody is asking. He probably doesn't want to talk Formula 1, because that's already a big part of his life.
“He wants to just enjoy the simple things in life and have a laugh about very random stupid things like anyone else would. And that's what I think I enjoy the most about being in that environment. He’s just a normal guy.”
Among regular followers of endurance racing, Juncadella has always been a well-known and highly respected driver. Only at 34 is the Spaniard now breaking through to the wider public, even though he’s long been one of the best GT drivers in the world. “Yes, I think I am. I consider myself [to be among the best].
“I think I have very good adaptability. That's something that, for my whole career, I've been able do and adapt to different things and be very natural in understanding the limits of the car. That's something that in GT racing is very important,” Juncadella says, before explaining that drivers always need a while to get used to a GT car. Apparently, Max Verstappen doesn’t. “But he’s not normal,” he laughs.
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Daniel Juncadella in the Genesis - Photo: RacePictures
'Hypercar suits me better than GT cars'
In a season in which racing with Verstappen plays such an important role, it’s almost forgotten that Juncadella’s main focus this year is on Genesis’ hypercar. Finally, after all those years of waiting, the Spaniard can get to work in the fastest endurance cars in the world. “It suits my driving style. I like it. I enjoy it. And in WEC especially, it's the pinnacle of endurance racing,” Juncadella explains.
“Actually, it's easier to drive these cars than the GT3, because, like I said, my background is in single-seaters and downforce cars. And even though it's been many years since I drove those, I just feel more natural by driving this hypercar than the GT3.”
Mrs. Juncadella wasn’t so happy
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In any case, thanks to his participation in the WEC, as well as the GT World Challenge Europe series and the races on the Nordschleife, Juncadella has a long schedule this season. “My wife isn’t so happy!” he says with a smile.
"In fact, just last year I said, 'well now I'm going to jump into hypercars with eight races. It's more relaxed, some testing, some development, of course, but I have a more relaxed year.' Because in GT3, you drive so many championships that you can do 30 races a year.
“But then I had a call with Max at the end of last year, and he was like, with all his GT project, it was looking very exciting. And then there was an opportunity that he was considering to do the 24h Nurburgring, and he would like me to join him. Even if I ask my wife, if I can do something with Verstappen, it’s always going to be hard to decline.
"Thankfully, Cyril (Abiteboul, team boss of Genesis) was also very supportive of that. Because in the end, WEC is eight races, not a lot. And I'm very used to really, really busy calendar years. And it's not something that's overwhelming for me. I know how to manage my travel, how to manage my team, how to recover between weekends, and I feel ready for this."
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