Max Verstappen seeks to emulate Niki Lauda as Formula 1 World Champion winner of 24H Nuburgring

This weekend Max Verstappen could become the second Formula 1 World Champion to add his name to the legendary race’s roll call of winners.

The major difference is Verstappen arrives at the Nordschleife already a four time Formula 1 World Champion, while Lauda in 1973 was drivng for the floundering and uncompetitive BRM F1 team. A year before Ferrari came calling and a legend was born.

Lauda, who would go on to win Formula 1 World Championships in 1975, 1977 and 1984, is remembered not only as one of the sport’s greatest drivers, but also as an inspiration to generations of racers. Yet often forgotten in the mists of time is that the Austrian was also a Nürburgring 24H winner.

Like few others, Lauda enjoyed success across multiple disciplines. Beyond his 25 Grand Prix victories, he also conquered one of endurance racing’s toughest challenges when he and Joisten dominated the 1973 edition in the Jägermeister Alpina BMW 3.3 CSL, finishing one lap ahead of team mates Brian Muir and Han Akersloot.

The 1973 Nürburgring 24 Hours was unique in the history of the event. The race was split into 2 parts, with eight hours of racing beginning at 5pm, followed by an overnight eight hour break for rest and repairs before another eight hour run from 9am the next morning. Hence only two drivers on duty, unlike normally when top teams field three or four drivers.

Repairs were permitted during the break, while spectators were entertained by an amusement park specially built for the event, a reminder of an era when endurance racing machinery was far less reliable than today’s GT3 cars.

Lauda immediately took control of the race and remained formidable throughout. Even after the restart, he and Joisten continued to dominate and ultimately secured victory by 1 lap over the sister Alpina BMW.

Hans Heyer and Klaus Fritzinger finished P3 in their factory Ford Capri RS 2600, 6 laps behind, preventing a complete BMW podium lockout.

The race itself was historic for several reasons. It was the final Nürburgring 24H before a 2 year hiatus caused by the oil crisis in 1974 and 1975, and remains the only edition interrupted by a planned overnight “night rest”.

BMW also continued its dominance of the event, securing a fourth consecutive Nürburgring 24H victory, with seven BMWs finishing inside the top 10. The winning distance of 95 laps and 2,169.32 km remained for many years the shortest distance completed by Nürburgring 24H winners.

One of the most famous anecdotes from Lauda’s victory involved Alpina boss Burkard Bovensiepen.

During the overnight break, with the two Alpina BMWs comfortably leading, Bovensiepen proposed an extraordinary idea to his startled engineers and drivers: bringing both cars into the garage for a complete wash.

The proposal caused immediate concern within the team, who feared unnecessary risks while comfortably controlling the race.

Lauda’s reaction was typical of the Austrian’s pragmatic personality: “If we lose the race because of this, Burkard, you still have to pay me the prize money!”

Bovensiepen quickly abandoned the idea, replying: “Then we’ll forget about the washing!”

The Nürburgring would later become forever linked with Lauda’s near fatal Formula 1 crash in 1976, but the Austrian also enjoyed triumphs in the Eifel region beyond Grand Prix racing.

before the modern Grand Prix circuit extension arrived in 1983, the 1973 24H race was contested in 0n 22-23 June on the original Nürburgring configuration, using the Nordschleife and the start finish section nicknamed the “concrete loop”.

Worth remembering, a month later in July, during the 24 Hours of Spa Francorchamps, tragedy struck when Joisten was killed in an accident while driving his BMW 3.0 CSL.

During the seventh hour of the race, after overtaking the Alfa Romeo of Roger Dubos at the Malmedy they collided heavily. Both drivers were killed instantly in the impact.

No surprise that hstorically, especially after 1976, the Nürburgring 24H has not been a particularly popular let alone successful hunting ground for Formula 1 drivers. Many of whom avoided the Nordschleife entirely because of its danger and complexity.

Hans Joachim Stuck became one of the rare crossover success stories. Although he made 74 Formula 1 starts with limited success, the German established himself as one of the finest touring car and sports car racers of his generation.

Stuck won the Nürburgring 24H three times, in 1970, 1998 and 2004. He also claimed 2 Le Mans victories, a World Sportscar title and the DTM crown.

For his final Nürburgring 24H triumph in 2004, Stuck shared the BMW Motorsport Schnitzer BMW M3 GTR with Dirk Müller, Jörg Müller and Pedro Lamy.

Lamy himself became a five time Nürburgring 24H winner after making 32 Formula 1 starts during the mid 1990s. Other former Formula 1 drivers to conquer the Nordschleife classic included Joachim Winkelhock, Johnny Cecotto and Christian Danner.

Now Verstappen has the chance to follow Lauda into one of motorsport’s rarest clubs by becoming only the second Formula 1 World Champion to ever to win the Nürburgring 24 Hours.