Endurance tests are practice sessions focused on long-run reliability and repeatable performance, not just single-lap speed. Teams evaluate things like tire wear, fuel/strategy planning, and how the car stays stable over extended stints.
Place
Multaland
Multaland is another track mentioned where teams do endurance practice, including driving at night. The goal is to learn how the car behaves and how to stay consistent for long periods.
Place
Puerto Ricardo
Puerto Ricardo sounds like a racetrack where drivers and teams practice and test before a big race. Endurance teams use these sessions to get the car and routines ready for long stints.
In a long race, “lead lap” means you’re not behind the leaders by a full lap. If you stay on the lead lap, you’re still in the fight for the best overall result.
Endurance racing is when you race for a long time instead of just a short sprint. Drivers and teams have to manage tires, fuel, and strategy so the car keeps working until the finish.
The checkered flag is the signal that the race is over. It’s the moment drivers want to reach, because after that you can finally relax and celebrate the result.
Fuel saving is an endurance-racing strategy where drivers and teams deliberately reduce fuel consumption to stretch the car’s stints. It often involves adjusting throttle use, engine settings, and sometimes driving style so the team can avoid an extra pit stop.
The “gap” is how far ahead or behind you are in time. The “margin” is the safety buffer—how much room you have before you might lose position or run out of strategy.
Term
safety guard
They’re describing a safety procedure during the race. When it ends and the track is cleared, the race effectively “restarts” and teams can push again.
Term
needle tyres
“Needle tyres” are special tires used when the track is wet. Their tread helps push water out from under the tire so the car can grip the road better.
A “stint” is how long one driver drives before switching to another driver. In long races, when you do stints affects tires, fuel, and overall strategy.
BMW is one of the racing teams/manufacturers competing at Le Mans. They’re in the mix with their race cars, and their performance can vary depending on track conditions.
They’re talking about how warmer daytime conditions can make the car and tires work better. When the track gets into the right temperature range, grip improves and the team can push harder.
The Cup Series is NASCAR’s main top-level racing series. It’s a different style of racing than F1 or endurance events, with stock cars and lots of oval-track strategy.
A dirt track is a race track made of dirt instead of pavement. Cars handle differently because the surface grips less consistently, so driving technique and setup have to change.
IndyCar is a major U.S. open-wheel racing series—think race cars with exposed wheels. It races on different types of tracks, including big ovals like the one used for the Indy 500.
The Indy 500 is one of the biggest races in U.S. motorsport. It’s run on a huge oval track at Indianapolis, and it’s especially challenging because of the sustained high-speed racing.
Formula E is a racing series where the cars are fully electric. Drivers have to manage energy during races, and the events are often held on city-style tracks.
Karting is where many future race drivers start. It’s a basic form of racing that helps people learn how to drive fast, race each other, and handle competition.
It’s about deciding whether an aggressive move is worth it. Sometimes pushing harder can pay off, but it can also cause problems that cost you more later.
Formula 1 is the most famous kind of open-wheel racing in the world. It’s known for very advanced race cars and a strong focus on driving and car development.
A “setup” is how the race car is adjusted to match a driver and a track. It’s not one-size-fits-all—teams change things so the car behaves the way the driver wants.
Formula One is the highest level of open-wheel racing. Here it’s mentioned because, like endurance racing, it doesn’t allow teams to test as much as they used to.
Max Verstappen is a famous Formula One driver. The point of mentioning him is that he’s always thinking about racing and stays fully engaged with the sport.
In racing, a simulator is a computer-based driving setup that lets drivers practice and keep improving. It helps them learn and stay connected to the car and track even when they can’t test in real life.
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I think that exemplifies the stress of Le Mans better than anything.
You know, from the moment you arrive in Le Mans and do the checkered flag on Sunday afternoon at 4pm,
definitely a lot of stress.
What do you do for fun? Do you have a hobby?
Yeah, I'm jealous. Will got his McLaren Golf Clubs already.
He might need some new shafts after he breaks them.
Hello, folks, and welcome to Speed with Harvick and Buxton, fueled by poets.
Let's talk racing, Will.
And we will do so with the man.
I'm so happy to see again, someone I've known for a long time.
But now we can say, Nick De Vries, Le Mans 24 Hours Champion, my friend.
Congratulations, dude. That's a huge one to tick off.
Yeah, thank you very much. Really appreciate it.
Obviously, I didn't do it alone.
I had two incredible teammates with me, Kamui and Mike and the team as well.
But yeah, very, very pleased with outcome of the race and being able to tick the box.
You're always so modest.
And obviously, it's a huge team affair.
But what does it mean? How does it feel?
Because so much of a racing driver's career is so focused on you as an individual
and what you as an individual can create and can do on the racetrack.
When you get to share that moment with two other drivers,
when you get to bring that result home together, is it sort of a greater relation?
Is it just a totally unique feeling? How do you describe that?
I mean, I've been quite fortunate in my career to enjoy several successes,
obviously highs and lows, but honestly, among everything that I've done so far in my career,
this is by far the most incredible feeling and experience.
I think it's the whole build up to it, the preparations that start early in the year
with all the endurance tests we do.
You are out at Puerto Ricardo, Multaland, and going through the night, pitch dark,
no one on track, you're doing your laps, and it's all done for this big race.
And Le Mans in itself takes 10 days, so it's an endurance by itself.
And yeah, the race as well, you live it as a rollercoaster.
There were many, many times within the race, we thought we were out of contention.
But it just proves that it's never done till it's done.
And yeah, we always stayed in the lead lap and stayed in the fight.
And at the end, when it really mattered, we were lucky enough to make the right calls
and to have the speed to have a fast car and make the moves when it mattered.
So I'm very, very, very happy.
And it's a feeling of relief, of pride, and to share that with your teammates,
your team, it just means a lot.
Nick, I've never, this is Kevin, I've never done any endurance racing.
And I watched the end of that race.
And as a driver, I just couldn't imagine not being in control of the car
coming to the checkered flag.
What were those last moments like?
Just sitting there watching, waiting, wondering if there's going to be a mistake.
Something's going to happen.
What's it like from a driver's perspective, not being in the car
and watching your team try to close that out?
I got to believe that that's stressful when you have no control of anything that's going on.
Yeah, it was indeed.
I mean, although I have more than 100% faith and confidence in my own technical part as well.
And I mean, everyone knows what happened to Toyota in 2016
when they broke down in the last lap on the start and finish straight.
So, yeah, frankly speaking, in the last 75 minutes of the race,
I locked myself up in my driver room without phone, without TV.
And I did not want to see or hear anything.
I folded my clothes for about six times.
I was just watching the ceiling.
I couldn't see it.
And I came to the garage as late as possible and just stayed for the end
because the end was quite tricky because we had to do an extra lap.
So we had to do more fuel saving in that last stint.
So we really needed the margin and the gap to the BMW
because we were kind of anticipating them to catch us a little bit in the last stint.
But it all worked out.
Oh, man. I think that exemplifies the stress of Le Mans better than anything.
That you were so nervous you couldn't watch it.
That's crazy.
I think it's the fact that the whole week is an endurance.
You do 24 hours of racing and you go through so many emotions.
And when you get to the final five hours of the race,
there's a safety guard that opens up everything
and suddenly you're right back in the fight.
And then let's say my stint was very good with the needle tyres
and we put ourselves in a great spot to actually win this.
And yeah, that just amplifies all the stress.
Like normally you sprint racing between one to two hours
and everything is condensed in that time.
But this lasts from the moment you arrive in Le Mans
until the checkered flag on Sunday afternoon at 4pm.
So yeah, definitely, definitely a lot of stress.
And it was a proper sprint this year, wasn't it?
You guys were having a proper push every stint.
I mean, it was great to see the competition being so close.
Obviously, ourselves, BMW and the Caddy were very much in contention.
And I think throughout the race each team and car had kind of their strengths and weaknesses.
The Caddies were very quick during the night.
They kind of took the lead and were pulling away from ourselves and the BMWs.
The BMWs were kind of always in contention
and we really came alive when the temperatures increased during the day.
So we were strong at the start of the race and I would say the last four or five hours.
So yeah, we were fortunate with that,
that the conditions kind of played in our favor at the end of the race when it mattered.
What's that podium like?
I look at these videos of all the fans on the front straightaway.
You're there with your team up on the podium.
I mean, obviously, there's a huge sense of gratification when you're standing up there.
But what is it? What is that like with all those fans
and just knowing the magnitude of the race and hoisting that trophy?
Just what an unbelievable feeling.
Yeah, I mean, it's amazing also to live back now.
It just gives me goosebumps.
It's very, very cool to get to experience that in your career.
Because you know, in other sports like golf and tennis, you have four majors in a season
and probably in racing you have two, which is Médic 3,
the Monaco Grand Prix in 500 and Le Mans.
But it's very rare or almost impossible to be participating in all three in a single year.
So realistically, you get one shot at a major every year.
And yeah, to kind of succeed and to be on that top podium with your teammates,
with your team members in front of everyone, seeing all the Toyota flags
just gives a great sense of pride.
But really, I mean, although that's all amazing, I was just so happy for us.
At the end of the day, we do it for ourselves, for our team fans.
But yeah, the pride towards ourselves was a great feeling.
I see Toyota, obviously Toyota all over the side of that.
We saw Kevin Magnuson this weekend in San Diego in the Cup Series.
Is that anything that you ever thought about trying?
I was going to ask that because Kevin, like Nick, had their time in F1,
moved over to endurance racing, doing great in endurance racing.
Now, Kev comes over and does the Cup Series this weekend.
I wanted to know if Nick wanted to do cup.
What are you fancy, Nick? You fancy coming over and doing some NASCAR?
Well, Jimmy Johnson is close to Toyota and we've had some chats in Austin last year
and I'd love to see his facilities and maybe get a test run on a dirt track or something.
I've obviously watched all the Netflix series on NASCAR racing.
I think are really cool.
And honestly, racing in the U.S. in general, I had a test in IndyCar with Meyer Schenck
which went very well in 2021, but it was a bit early because I was still kind of pursuing F1.
And I definitely want to do Imsen, Daytona at some point in my career.
So yeah, I hope to see you guys at some point in the U.S.
Well, you've got LeMond under your belt.
So that's done now. That's forever.
Now you can come over and do NASCAR.
You can come over and do the Indy 500.
You can come and join us over here. It's great fun.
Mate, listen, how different is what you're doing now?
How does it compare with everything that you've experienced through your career?
Because you're still racing in Formula E, obviously, at the same time as your endurance racing.
And congratulations on the podium at the weekend.
You've raced Formula 1. 2.
You started in carts like so many kids around the world do.
How do you find endurance racing and Formula E?
How do they compare to everything else?
How different are they?
What skill sets do you need that sets you apart in those championships?
Well, obviously, each discipline asks for their own specialties, I would say.
But the basics of racing remain the same across, I would say, from carting to cars,
to everything that I've raced in my career.
And really, the process of finding the marginal gains and working together with your team
and pushing the limits is actually very much similar across all series.
Obviously, in endurance, the approach towards the racing is a little bit different.
I think the risk versus reward is very important that you know when to attack and when not to attack.
Formula E is a lot about software development, a lot of management, strategic racing.
And Formula 1 is kind of the purest form of racing we know and we grew up with.
But the basics are the same across all.
And I would say the key is to enjoy that process of constantly improving yourself,
improving your car and the team and driving for the success together.
You talked there about enjoyment.
I was so happy when you got your chance in F1 and it obviously didn't work out
the way that you had hoped for or that anybody who's a fan of yours would have hoped for.
And it didn't look fun. It never looked fun.
And frankly, between you and me and Kevin and everybody watching,
I thought you got screwed by the entire thing.
How disappointed were you that you weren't able to show the talent that you so clearly have
and that that entire opportunity became such a nightmare?
Well, your words are very much appreciated.
But actually, although I will admit that my time there wasn't enjoyable,
I have no regrets and no hard feelings.
I'm still grateful for the opportunity that I got.
I managed to kind of fulfill my childhood dream and not every chapter in life can be successful.
And it's a long journey.
Unfortunately for me, something that I dreamed of for a long time happened to be a short chapter.
But I'm very happy where I am today and ultimately I love what I'm doing.
I have a lot of passion for racing.
I'm proud of everything that I'm doing.
We won Monaco and Formula E this year.
We won Le Mans and I get to do great things and that's what I care about.
So frankly speaking, although as I said, I admit it wasn't enjoyable,
no regrets and happy that I still got to do it.
See, that's why we love Nick.
That's a pro right there.
Always looking at the big picture.
Love that, man.
I love that.
The racing world can be such a cruel place and there's always a lot of ups and downs
and I always felt like, much like you say,
you learn more from the things that don't go right and make you better as you move forward.
One thing that, look, I'm old and retired at this point,
but one thing that evolved through my racing career was the simulator
and the simulation and everything that goes with that.
I know you do some F1 work with McLaren and all the things that happen on that side of the world still.
Is that something that you enjoy?
Do you enjoy being in the simulator?
Do you enjoy the process of helping the team problem solve?
Because that is one thing that I have a hard time explaining to a lot of our young drivers on the NASCAR side,
is how important that process is to be engaged and not just check the box
because it's really what makes the whole thing go around from a setup standpoint,
especially when they're developing it around your driving style.
Is it something to where you have to try to fit somebody else's driving style
or do you just use your driving style?
How does that whole process go on that side of the world?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think in NASCAR you guys don't get to test either.
You have like two manufacturer test days allocated to a couple of specific teams
and then you basically race the whole season.
So similar to Formula One and all endurance racing,
we don't get to test anymore.
I mean, back in the day there were test teams and drivers were testing
and driving physically their cars much more regularly.
And if I often draw comparison to other sports,
a football player would be playing football every day,
as well as a tennis player, a golf player, a basketball player.
And I think it's absolutely vital to be engaged and involved with your sport.
And I think Max Verstappen is the best example.
He lives and breathes racing.
If he's at home, he won't do anything else but still think and live his racing.
And I do it with pleasure.
Of course, every day in the simulator is not the greatest day,
but fundamentally I really enjoy to be part of the process.
And Formula One is still the pinnacle of our sport,
the rate of development and improvement
and the level of professionalism that is within that environment.
This is just extremely high.
And I want to continue to expose myself to that
because I know it will continue to push me and trigger me.
And actually I'm going to McLaren tomorrow
and then I'm heading back to my Formula E team to prepare the next race.
But I think it's key to enjoy that process.
I think if you do not enjoy that part of the, let's say, job,
you will struggle to succeed on the long run
because the world is too competitive for that.
Fascinating.
It is fascinating.
Absolutely fascinating.
Nick, how do you think you yourself have changed as a driver over the last sort of 45 years?
Because we all, when we look back to our youth,
we see a different version of ourselves.
Do you see much that's different from the kid
who first graduated from CARTS into cars?
Or are you still very much the same kind of person?
I like the thing that we learn from our experiences.
And I think who I am today is thanks to everything that I have experienced in my career.
And I'm still learning every day, which sounds cliche, but I truly believe in it.
I think I'm just a little bit more perspective.
I think when you're young, when you go through the ranks,
you have a very much tunnel vision and obsession for your goal and dream,
which is Formula One.
And then when you go through that experience and it works out or it doesn't,
you actually realize there is more than just an end goal.
And actually an end goal doesn't exist in life.
As soon as you're about to accomplish your goal,
you already set a new goal and that process should never end.
So really enjoying the day-to-day kind of grind,
enjoying what you're doing, I think is very important.
And all the time I've been fortunate to put a few titles to my name.
So you have a little bit less, although you always need to prove yourself
because people have short memory and every race is a new opportunity.
You do have some kind of level of experience and luggage
that shows that you have proven to be among, I wouldn't say the best,
but the good ones within the sport.
Well, we all get caught up in the racing and we all live it, eat it, breathe it all the time.
What do you do for fun? Do you have a hobby?
Do you do anything outside of racing? Do you have anything else that you enjoy?
Yeah, I'm jealous. Will got his McLaren Golf Clubs already.
Yeah.
I need them.
He might need some new shafts after he breaks them.
I mean, we're all terrible. I do love golf a lot.
I have a lot of free time, but I love golf
and I also try to keep up with my piano lessons when I am home.
But struggling, especially in the summer, it's a busy time.
Do you have a keyboard that you take?
So, you know, you can get like a roll-up, like a digital keyboard
that you can take away and put out in the hotel.
Yeah, I have something like it.
That's so cool.
That is awesome.
That's great.
I mean, I'm rubbish. I didn't grow up with anything else than cars and racing.
So, no background in me, the golf, more music.
But I think it's important to continue to push yourself out of the comfort zone.
So, I'm crying.
I'm going to say that racing drivers are annoyingly good at golf
because you guys, it's all about process, repetition, perfection, you know.
And so, and that is perfect for golf.
But music is also similar, I think, to driving in a way
because it's about feel and it's about flow.
How do you, coming to music, you know, not from childhood
but at this stage of your life, do you find that to be relaxing?
Is it something that kind of takes you out of that sportsman mindset
and allows you a bit more of a freedom?
I enjoy the challenges.
I think the piano is a beautiful instrument.
And I read some things about it that it's very good for your brain training
and your cognitive side of the brain.
So, I just loved the instrument
and I thought it was a good way to continue to train your brain.
I mean, it's very good for Alzheimer prevention.
So, yeah, it has a lot of different benefits that I think should be practising.
What's your favourite piece to play at the moment?
Honestly, I have a teacher that has a lot of patience with me
but usually songs that are known, so pop music.
I kind of like pop music.
Excellent stuff, man.
That's great.
Love it.
We were actually sitting in the hotel room that we had a couple of weeks ago
and my son, Keelan, he was like, I'm going to play the piano.
I'm like, do you know any songs, Dad?
I'm like, well, I can play Mary Had a Little Lamb.
So, that's about my piano expertise.
Love it.
I love it.
I love it.
I'm trying to convince my wife to allow me to take a piano into our new house.
Nick, you will now forever be cemented with one of the all-time great racers.
Your name will live forever as a winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Thank you so much for being on the show.
Thank you so much for giving us such a fascinating insight into you as a person and as a driver.
Appreciate your time, mate.
I want to wish you continued success across the many championships that you're racing in.
But if you could pick just one that you wanted to race in next, where would Nick De Vries like to go?
Imsa.
Imsa.
There we go.
Imsa.
There's the answer.
Straight forward right there.
I love it.
Brilliant.
We'll see you here stateside soon, mate.
Love it.
Nick De Vries.
Brilliant stuff.
Thank you so much.
We're very, very grateful for you being on this show, mate.
Likewise.
Thanks for the invite.
Thank you, Nick.
Catch you soon.
Cheers, guys.
Thanks.
About this episode
Nyck de Vries celebrates his Le Mans 24 Hours win and explains what comes next: endurance preparation, mental stress management, and the tactical details that decide the final laps. He describes Le Mans as an endurance “by itself,” staying on the lead lap, locking himself away for the last 75 minutes, and adjusting fuel saving after an extra lap. With safety periods, tire choices, and BMW pressure, the victory feels earned. Afterward, he points toward IMSA and keeps building for Formula E.
What is next for motorsport's ultimate versatile champion? Fresh off a stunning Le Mans 24 Hours victory with Toyota Gazoo Racing and a historic Formula E win in Monaco, Nyck de Vries joins us to discuss his incredible career resurgence.
While he is currently pulling double-duty in global championships and helping develop McLaren's F1 car in the simulator, Nyck has his sights set on some major American bucket-list series. We dive deep into his interest in NASCAR, IndyCar, and IMSA, the psychology of surviving the final hour at Le Mans, and the mindset that helped him bounce back after his exit from AlphaTauri.
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