Bernd Maylander offered some advice to Max Verstappen before his debut at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring. The Formula 1 safety car driver pointed out how the Dutchman needs to cooperate with the whole team.
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The four-time Red Bull world champion will compete in the race at the German circuit between May 16 and 17 with a Mercedes-AMG GT3 car, racing alongside Dani Juncadella, Jules Gounon, and Lucas Auer.
Maylander, who won in 2000, then offered the competitor some tips. “I follow everything he does at Nürburgring,” Maylander told RacingNews365. “It’s great to have a Formula 1 champion participating in the 24 Hours. That’s good for the sport, for the fans, and for the championship,” he continued.
“I tried to win this race seven times. Twice I came very close, once I crashed when we were leading. Only in 2000 did everything come together and we won. My most important advice? We had a perfect team and a perfect car in 2000, but in all the briefings, the message was the same: the drivers need to cooperate with the team,” he continued.
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“If you know the car is good and fast, think about the finish flag. Don’t take too many risks. It’s always a matter of luck with the rules and the Code 60 situations. You can end up getting a penalty that way,” he added.
“But the most important thing: stay on the track. Traffic is the biggest lesson I had to learn. Don’t push too hard on the inside. In the last 30 years, we’ve seen that even the fastest cars can’t risk too much. We also had a driver in 2000 who took too many risks. We had to hold him back and say: ‘Hey, go safely.’ We’re in pole position, but you don’t need to be first after the first corner,” he continued.
“The race is incredibly long. If you’re not in the lead after the first lap, maybe you’re on lap 50. That option is always there, as long as you keep the car intact,” he concluded.
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