Verstappen Becomes 28th F1 Champion to Compete in 24-Hour Race
Over the past weekend, Max Verstappen participated in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring, becoming the 28th Formula 1 champion to compete in such an endurance event. The Dutch racer shared the Mercedes No. 3 car with Dani Juncadella, Jules Gounon, and Luca Auer. Despite leading the race, a broken half-shaft four hours before the finish line prevented them from winning. This setback meant Verstappen could not match Niki Lauda, the only Formula 1 world champion to win the 24-hour race at Nürburgring, which he achieved in 1973.
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In the history of Formula 1, only seven world champions have never participated in a 24-hour race: Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Mika Häkkinen, Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Räikkönen, Sebastian Vettel, and Nico Rosberg. All other 28 champions, including Verstappen, have competed in at least one of the four major 24-hour races: Le Mans, Spa, Daytona, and Nürburgring. However, no champion has started in all four.
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World champions such as Giuseppe Farina, Mike Hawthorn, Phil Hill, Graham Hill, Jochen Rindt, Niki Lauda, and Fernando Alonso have each won at least one of the four major 24-hour races. Alonso has been the most successful, with two wins at Le Mans in 2018 and 2019 with Toyota, and a victory at Daytona in 2019 with Cadillac.
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Verstappen's performance at Nürburgring was a missed opportunity for greatness! Will he try again or has his racing story already peaked? Let's see if he can rewrite history next time!