The Nürburgring 24 hours is a race that lasts a full day at the Nürburgring track. Teams have to keep the car fast and reliable for hours, including at night.
Formula One is the highest level of open-wheel racing. It’s notable here because F1 drivers don’t usually switch to endurance races like the Nürburgring 24.
Le Mans is another famous endurance race that lasts 24 hours. The hosts bring it up because it’s the kind of big endurance event Max is interested in doing.
They mean drivers who are still racing regularly in their main job. The point is that it’s uncommon for an active top-level driver to do this endurance race.
“Qualified P4” means they earned the 4th spot to start the race based on qualifying speed. In long races, starting position helps with avoiding traffic early on.
Modern race cars rely on aerodynamics to generate downforce, keeping the tires planted. If airflow is disrupted—like when a car gets too close to another—downforce can drop and the car can become unstable. The hosts describe this as the front lifting during an “airborne” moment, which could have ended the race.
Slipstream is when one car benefits from the air “wake” created by the car in front. Being very close can change how the air flows over your car. In this case, that closeness is linked to the front end lifting.
A dive bomb is when a driver brakes extremely late and tries to force the pass at the last second. It’s exciting, but it can be dangerous if the car doesn’t have enough grip.
The drive shaft is the part that sends power from the gearbox to the wheels. If it’s damaged or failing, the car can’t put power down properly and will lose speed fast.
Term
lift moment
A “lift moment” means the car suddenly has less grip because the airflow over it isn’t pushing it down as much. When that happens, the car can feel less stable and easier to lose control.
Balance of Performance (BoP) is how race organizers try to make different cars roughly equal. They may add weight or limit power so one car doesn’t automatically dominate.
In endurance races, a “handover” is when the car switches from one driver to another. It usually happens during a pit stop and can change how the race unfolds.
Endurance races are long—hours instead of minutes—so drivers have to keep the car healthy while staying quick. It’s not the same kind of challenge as Formula One, where the race is shorter and the strategy is different.
In this kind of endurance race, different kinds of cars race together. Some are much faster than others, so drivers have to pass and avoid traffic while still staying consistent.
A “stint” is how long a driver drives before switching. A “night stint” is the part of the race after dark, when it can be harder to see and the track can grip differently.
They’re describing how rain can make the track grip change quickly. That forces drivers to adjust how they brake and steer, and it’s a big part of why the race is so hard.
Multi-class racing is when different types of race cars run on the track together. Because some cars are faster than others, you’re always dealing with other traffic, which makes the race feel busier and more unpredictable.
“24-hour sprint” is a description of how intense the race feels. Even though it lasts 24 hours, the track and the different car classes keep the action going almost continuously.
The Nordschleife is the famous, twisty part of the Nürburgring track. It’s known for being long and challenging, which is why people talk about it like a special experience—especially in racing games.
Endurance racing is long-duration racing where the car has to last and the team has to manage things like tires and fuel. Usually more than one driver shares the driving, so strategy is a big deal.
“Mid-season change” just means making a change while the season is still going on. The hosts are talking about whether Max should switch his race number partway through the year.
LIVE
Hello, everybody, and welcome back to the P1 Podcast with Matt and Tommy. Oh, dear,
oh, dear, oh, dear. We've had to do a podcast. Tommy is, I mean, I say, I like doing podcasts.
Don't get me wrong. I mean, we had to do one right this second. Tommy, you are in transit
from Australia back to the United Kingdom. I thought it was safe to go for some interval
training running, and then Max Verstappen's car was like, see you, and then I had to run all
the way back. So I'm red, hot, and flustered. Tommy, you're probably jet-lagged out your mind,
but we're here to talk about Max Verstappen's nerve-overing heartbreak.
We are, sadly, the heartbreak. We were literally chatting as I was about to land in Singapore.
Watched quite a lot of the race as much as I could had before getting my flight, and then,
yeah, we were messaging going, oh, maybe, you know, I've landed, I've got a bit of a stopover,
maybe we could record something once the results in, and didn't realize that that result of Max
Verstappen would be very quick, because, yeah, within moments, the car broke down. So, yes,
it's tough, very tough. Let's dive into that sad story a little bit more, because it also is quite
an insane timing story, because we were just discussing it. You, of course, were on your
flight at the time, and I was like, oh, look, you know, maybe we can, you know, talk about
getting a social clip ready for when Max Verstappen wins, and I even said, what's the worst that
could happen? And then genuinely, I'm not even kidding, about 60 seconds later,
Junkadella was losing half a minute a sector, and the car then broke down very soon after.
So I just want to apologize for saying that. I know there's a part of me that's like, oh,
no, poor you, Tommy, it's such a shame that you have to go through such a heartbreak. I've had
10 years of it, but it is a sad story. Yes, I've won at what cost, because this was going to be the
loophole for my Max Verstappen doesn't win a race this year, prediction that if he'd won the Nürburgring,
you'd have been like, no, it doesn't count. And of course, I've won, but at what cost? Oh my god,
as well. And of course, he got disqualified from the other race that he did. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's not going well, is it, for Max this year? He might have to pop to formulary or something.
But to get you all up to speed as to what this race was, it's the 24 hours of Nürburgring,
and Max Verstappen was racing in the top class with teammates Danny Junkadella, Jules Gunon,
and Lucas Auer in a Mercedes AMG GT3. It was all the preparation came down to this moment.
We've actually been lucky enough to go to the Nürburgring 24 hours a long time ago,
hadn't we Tommy? And it was such an awesome experience, so much energy that it's a race that
you can't really mimic at all. It's such an awesome experience if you just want to see cars at night,
whilst with a beer in hand, it's just unbelievable. And I found myself mesmerized just watching Max
Verstappen's on boards for what felt like hours on end. It's an epic race. I don't think it can be
understated just how insane it is that a Formula One driver is doing this race. We've had them doing
Le Mans and things. We've had Hülkenberg, we've had Fernando Alonso, and obviously Max wants it
to do Le Mans at some point. But the Nürburgring 24 hours is insanely dangerous. It's still an
unbelievably dangerous circuit, obviously a circuit that got banned from Formula One for being so
dangerous. And I think he's the first driver, I think they said active drivers, since Nicky Lauda,
to actually do this race, which shows kind of this doesn't happen these days. So it's insane
that he's been doing it in the first place and being able to do it. It's an amazing story. It's
been incredible to watch it sell out for the first time and people being able to watch this race,
because however much people will, you know, maybe, and I hope not, some endurance fans might gatekeep
the sport a bit and be like, are you any interest because of Max? Really exciting moment for the
sport to get to showcase on a big platform just how epic this race is. And I know a lot of people
have been really enjoying it. Yeah, I don't think there's a better race that deserves the limelight
more than the Nürburgring 24 hours. It is utterly epic. Now to bring you up to speed with some of
the other things that happened. So Max and his team qualified P4 for the main race and
Junkerdelle started the race before handing over to Max Verstappen. Now there were,
I mean, as you would imagine, 24 hours of racing or 21, I guess, for Max Verstappen's team, really,
sorry. There's a lot of moments that can happen between now and then. And I think the mesmerizing
thing is watching an onboard of the fastest class just tearing through the field and having to make
moves that were utterly daring and audacious. Now there was one that he made that was on the grass
around the outside of another car that was in his class, I think it was. He was coming through the
field, which was, I've heard the Italian commentary for this and is absolutely amazing. They were
losing their minds and I was as well. I could not believe what I was witnessing. But I think the
biggest moment of all had to be the airborne one that Max had where he was essentially in the slip
stream of another car and there's aerodynamics, there's science behind it. But essentially the
front of his car lifted because he was so close to the car in front and that could have easily been
race over then. And maybe, Tommy, for your sake, it would have been easier to process had it been
over quicker. Thanks. Yeah, I mean, the kind of moves that Max was doing, I think the commentary
team at one point were like, I don't think this is not how you do endurance racing
and it was epic to watch and it's Max Verstappen being Max Verstappen. He does it in Formula One,
but even in endurance racing, he's not going to wait for the next corner to go for a dive bomb
and things like that. And he's making these audacious moves. You know, the airborne moment we
talked about, you know, how incredibly dangerous this race is, of course, someone when Max Verstappen
was last at the Nürburgring, someone was tragically killed, of course. And, you know,
speaking of this this airborne moment, you know, there was a really scary crash a few years ago
where Jan Maddenborough caught some air at exactly the same thing and actually killed a spectator.
So it's a really scary moment and thankfully for Max and everyone involved, it was just the car kind
of came back down, kind of hit the hit the wall, but nothing too crazy. But yeah,
an insane moment and just a reminder of how insane this circuit is.
And it didn't stop there in the night. I loved this incident as well, because it was very
much a case of who's going to lift, I'll wait, nobody is between Max Verstappen and Mauro Engel,
who's in the number 80 Mercedes and, you know, basically their teammates, they're both in the
same car, but they're not really teammates, they're both out to win. And they were coming up on two
slower cars in the middle of the night and they were side by side and neither of them lifted and
they hit each other twice. Somehow did both of them got away with it. And I'm wondering again,
like it was a drive shaft issue in the end, wasn't it, that caused the problem with Max. But I do
wonder if the hit with the wall they had with the lift moment that we just spoke about. And also,
it was the right side of Max Verstappen's car again that hit with Engel. So I do wonder if
these moments sort of added up, which eventually maybe caused the issue.
Yeah, probably didn't help things. I mean, that moment was absolutely insane with Engel. It was
a case of like, you're not going to, like Max Verstappen is not going to back out of a move.
You're battling with the wrong person here. And what's quite funny is,
Maro Engel, of course, some people may have seen this depending on how online you are and how
much you were up to speed with things. But of course, the famous Franz Herrmann, when Max raced
at the Nürburgring with that fake name and set these amazing lap times, it was Maro Engel who
did that tweet basically questioning Max Verstappen's lap times. And if he'd done the right BOP
balance of performance, and if he'd got the right specification and Max clapped back and said,
why would I turn up to a test with the wrong, you know, Engel specification?
The only time he uses Twitter by the way.
Yeah, exactly. So there's a little bit of history. It's obviously only like just a little Twitter
beef, but it's funny that that is those two that had that little Twitter spat,
if you can even call it that. And then we're going side by side at the Nürburgring battling
for the win. It was epic to watch. It certainly was. So as I mentioned, three laps after the
handover to Junkadella, drive shaft problem slowed down, losing time, handover fist felt like the
commentary we're watching a completely different sport. Oh, my God. To realize that he was basically.
Never slarder F1 commentary or TV direction again. I mean, I will. But my word, like we were
I mean, they were playing a replay of Max Verstappen, but Max was, you know, they'd taken over
and Junkadella was leading by about 30 seconds. And then when it was showing three seconds,
it's like, come on. And I understand the TV direction that there's a massive track. There's
a lot to pick up. It's not as easy as Formula One, but surely the commentary team have noticed
some literal leader. Max Verstappen's car is losing something and basically like his
leader has been completely wiped out. Yeah. And Max was unbelievable, by the way, in the car.
His pace was brilliant for someone that had never done the Nürburgring 24 hours before.
He showed, you know, aside to him that as much as a Formula One driver, a four time F1 champion,
an endurance race is a completely different kettle of fish and tests you in ways that
a Formula One weekend never would. So yeah, they were very much on to win the race. And it would
have been such an amazing moment to see. I'm sure Max would have probably got in on that final stint
and sort of seen the car over the line. Of course, there is a point where you can't put Max Verstappen
in the car for 24 hours of the race because you have to have a, is it maximum of two and a half
hours, I think in the car, then you have a two hour break. But I think it would have worked out
that Max would have seen the car over the line. Yeah, definitely. I mean, you know, he was there
with his teammates. It's a team sport at the end of the day. Junkadella, Gunon and Aue, if I've
said that correctly, I apologize. But yeah, the fact that they're like, they're all racing together
and it's no disrespect to the others. But like, it was like watching Fernando Alonso a few years ago
where he did Le Mans and obviously, you know, he's racing against fantastic endurance drivers
that have been doing it for years and is a team sport. But Alonso's stints, some of them at Le Mans
were absolutely incredible to watch. And this was the same sort of thing of like watching Max
fly through the field, make these really daring overtakes. Because if you've not watched this
race or and you're just listening to this podcast, you know, we talk, this isn't even like Le Mans,
where there's a top class and then they're racing like GT cars. There's a dacia, like an old dacia
going from the track. Which conked out, I'm very sad to see. Just after Max, I know after Max's car,
but it's epic. There's so many different classes and types of car going around. So
already a crazy dangerous circuit and an insane test of driver skill. But it was epic to watch and
you know, as you mentioned, me, I was in Australia at the time watching a lot of it. So I was actually
on a very different time zone. So a lot of what I was watching was the night stint and they were
on board with Max a lot and it was just absolutely epic to watch. And also throwing in the fact that
there was rain just randomly coming in and out, making some parts of the track slippery. Some,
of course, not in the night stint, but sometimes it would just be like bright sunshine. It's just a
proper test of so many things as a driver around there. And let's get into some questions. P1
picture member, Philly Berger, did Max jinx himself in the interview played before the issue? He said,
we couldn't wish for it to go any better. Yeah. Again, actually, there's another moment to talk
about the literal lap that Max Verstappen came in. The Porsche that he was fighting at the time
speared another car into the wall as Max was quite literally a car length behind. And that could
have easily been the moment where, you know, if the car had speared back out and hit Max from
from hitting the wall, then that could have been race over for him as well. So at that point,
you're thinking, ah, surely it's written in the stars that Max is going to end up winning this
one because there's been so many close moments that have ended up being okay. But yeah, it's
sad to see, I think that the one small glimmer of hope, I suppose, not hope, but just in the sense of
looking to the future, I think it will secure the fact that he's going to come back. You know,
as much as, you know, winning the N24, you're like, okay, cool, maybe what's next? What other,
you know, races can I do? Should I do Daytona or, you know, whatever, or Le Mans?
He hasn't won the Nürburgring 24 hours, not due to his own mistakes or anything, but I'm sure
there is an inner competitiveness that will make him want to come back even more than what he may
have felt anyway. Yeah, you do wonder if he'd have continued kind of doing it again and again,
like if he's not going to win it come back year after year. Had he won it in his first year,
which was obviously looking likely that he could have done, it's difficult to know whether he would
have done it again or immediately set his sights on Le Mans or something like that. So I guess the
good side of this is we're probably very likely going to see Max's happen doing this again. I
think that's great because, you know, it's an awesome race anyway, but to have a four-time
Formula One World Champion in that race just adds that extra level of excitement and, you know,
the way he was driving as well was just absolutely ridiculous. So good. Question from
I am Tua Ha. What has been your favorite thing about the Nürburgring 24 hours? For me, it is the
unpredictability. I think it's just that it's the multi-class racing around a circuit that's just
already nuts. I mean, the fact that you've got, as we mentioned, like the Dacia is driving and it's
just absolutely ridiculous. Like, you've got Max in a, you know, a four-time Formula One World
Champion in a Mercedes AMG GT3 car and he's there racing like going past a Dacia or an old Mercedes
or, you know, there's so many different classes and it just means that it's like non-stop action,
even if there's no actual racing within the classes that are always passing and like weaving it
out and because of the nature of the Nürburgring of how there's so many corners,
you'd never really get any breathing room and I think that's just what makes it such a frantic
race that it does feel like a 24-hour sprint, basically. It really does. For me, the thing,
yeah, it's the multi-class racing. It's the fact it's 24 hours. It goes from day to night
and the circuit itself is just absolutely brilliant. Like, I remember racing on the
Nordschleife, playing like, I'm trying to think what the name of that racing game was.
Oh my goodness gracious me. It wasn't even like Formula One or anything because obviously, you
know, Nordschleife, a good luck having that on an F1 game. Or like at Xbox, like 4-0 or something.
Yeah, yeah, it wasn't even 4-0. It was something that was going to annoy me, but I'll try.
Test drive. Maybe, it'll come back to me. But I remember doing laps on this thinking,
geez, this is such a long lap and I think that in itself is just such a unique thing to have
an eight-and-a-half-minute lap or eight-minute ten, I think, if you're in a Lambo. It's just,
there's so much about it that I love. It's so different to anything that we're used to,
but also it has the same premise of it's racing. And yeah, I just love it. And the fact that Max
has brought it in and come into the sport or to the category of the Ennobo in 24 hours and been
so quick. But no, he's not like so far down the road that he's untouchable as well. Like he was,
you know, tested. And I think that in itself was great to watch. So for me, loads of things.
But yeah, maybe the multi-class as well. A question from Chris Fitton, 89.
How long before Max enters Le Mans, 24 hours? Clearly, has what it takes for endurance racing
is an Alonso-esque WEC sabbatical on the cards for 2027? No, no, I can't see him going full-time
WEC. I really can't. I think he is committed to Formula One, will remain committed to Formula
One for the foreseeable. I really don't buy into the retirement rumours. He's still allowed to go
and play. He can go and play with his other toy cars, which is what he's doing right now. He's
able to be in the Nürburgring 24 hours. I'm sure if there is an opportunity, he can also do the
Le Mans 24 hours. So there's no reason for him to take a sabbatical in my opinion. And he loves
racing that much that I just don't think he'd want to. So for me, yes, Le Mans 24 hours is
absolutely on the cards if it works with the F1 schedule. And I think he'll come back to the
Nürburgring as we just mentioned. Yeah, I think he'll do the Nürburgring still and kind of tick
that one off first. I think the beauty of Le Mans is, and I guess it is the same for Nürburgring,
but he knows that when he does decide to leave Formula One, and he's already said this before,
that he doesn't want to be going in Formula One until he's like 40. So he can do Le Mans
when he is like in his 40s or whatever. But even if he does want to sort of dabble in Le Mans 24,
and that's something that comes up even if he's still in Formula One in maybe a couple of years
or three years time, I think, you know, Nika Holkenberg and Fernando Alonso to a lesser extent,
because I know Alonso took a sabbatical, but then did kind of come back to Formula One,
shows that you can kind of do both. And you can just do the previous round. It just depends how
the Formula One calendar goes. But I don't think we'll see it next year, particularly now the fact
that he didn't win the Nürburgring 24. I think we'll just see him doing this race again next year
and actually trying to get it over the line this time. Fingers crossed.
Yeah, hopefully for him, because he definitely deserved it, as did his other teammates.
Question from b1 underscore g boss. Should he change his number? That number three brings
nothing but bad luck. Yes, let's let's go back to 33 and one because it's because it's iconic
anyway. And I'm still absolutely good that he changed that number because for me, it's just
you shouldn't be allowed to change your number like once you're in Formula One. He's made that
number iconic. I know he's had the number one for the last kind of four years because he's won the
championship. But that's the number I think of. I kind of almost even forget he's three. Max has
happened three this year. He's still in my head like 33 almost like ignore the fact there's number
three. But yeah, it seems like Daniel Ricciardo has had all this bad luck with number three.
Max has taken it on board and then he's had the software issue in Australia and the retirement
in China and even the disqualification in the Nurburgring and now a retirement in the Nurburgring
and the spin in Miami is not going well. So maybe a mid-season change to 33 and let's get this
championship back on track. Yes, let's blame it all on the number. I agree. I much prefer his 33
number. It's a bit more unique and it's clearly not working. So yeah, let's all blame the number
and as soon as he changes it, which is not going to change it by the way. There's no chance he's
going to have a mid-season change to number 33, but we will see. Next year, change back to 33 and
let's have a 2023 season again where he wins. No, no, no, thanks. Can't actually keep the number
three. Keep the number three. Charlotte Clair, change your number to 33. There you go. All right,
that is it. Thank you everybody for tuning in. I hope you have enjoyed the little round up. Of
course, we had to cover it. Max Verstappen involved in a massive endurance race. Tommy,
how are you going to sum up your final thoughts? Final thoughts are gutted, of course, but
yeah, looking forward to getting back home and enjoying some Formula One together because I
think we said this didn't we after the live shows like, oh my word, like come on Formula One,
like let's get this momentum going. The season has been so bizarre of all these long breaks and
things. So yeah, looking forward to the season just like kicking off now. Me too. Thanks everybody.
We will see you very soon for our predictions for the next race. Canada is going to be great. I think
Grace wants to come on. Grace, what's your final thoughts? Tell me what your final thoughts are.
Just say it into the microphone. Just say, I don't know. What do you think to Max Verstappen's
nerve-bearing race? Max Verstappen wins. Thank you, Grace. Appreciate it. Nothing happened
in terms of retirement. Max Verstappen won. More delusional than me.
All right. Thanks everybody. We'll see you soon. I'll still have to take care. Bye.
About this episode
The hosts react to Max Verstappen’s Nürburgring 24 heartbreak, from messaging about a win clip to the car breaking down “within moments.” They connect the pace collapse after the handover to a “drive shaft problem,” and add how the race’s multi-class chaos, corner density, and shifting weather make everything feel like a “24-hour sprint.” They also debate whether Verstappen should return next year, and whether endurance races like Le Mans fit around the F1 calendar.
Max Verstappen proved once again why he’s one of the most talented drivers in motorsport history with a hugely impressive performance at the Nürburgring 24 Hours - even if the race ended in heartbreak...
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