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Kevin Estre has paid a generous tribute to Max Verstappen following the Nürburgring 24 Hours, describing the four-time Formula 1 world champion as an "amazing driver" who demonstrated a remarkable ability to adapt to some of the most demanding conditions in motorsport — only to be denied a memorable result by mechanical failure.
The Porsche works driver and 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship Hypercar winner knows the Green Hell better than most, which makes his assessment all the more significant. Estre, however, was unable to witness Verstappen's performance in person for long. His own race came to a premature end in the fourth hour after crashing his Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R at Brünnchen. Forced marginally offline by traffic and an oil spill, Estre lost the rear of the car, and the backwards impact into the barriers inflicted damage too severe for Manthey to repair. The Frenchman had been chasing down the race leaders at the time.
With Estre watching from home, Verstappen delivered what was widely regarded as the standout performance of the race. His double night stint aboard the #3 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 — shared with Dani Juncadella, Jules Gounon and Lucas Auer — was particularly devastating for the field. During that stretch, Verstappen moved past Maro Engel's sister Mercedes to seize the overall lead and pulled clear by nearly half a minute, a display that underlined his adaptability to an entirely different form of motorsport.
The fairy tale, however, was not to be. As detailed in our coverage of Verstappen's race-ending driveshaft failure, with approximately three hours and 20 minutes remaining, a broken driveshaft caused severe vibrations and extensive damage, forcing the #3 car into the garage for repairs that took far too long to mount any genuine recovery. The team eventually rejoined the race only to complete a token final lap — a bittersweet conclusion to what had been a commanding effort.
Victory ultimately went to the #80 Mercedes-AMG Team RAVENOL Winward Racing entry of Maro Engel, Luca Stolz, Fabian Schiller and Maxime Martin, who recovered from their earlier battle with Verstappen to claim overall honours.
Reflecting on both his own retirement and the cruel fate that befell the #3 car, Estre offered a considered and gracious response on his Instagram story.
"So, back home a bit earlier than planned. Congrats to the winners, they did a great recovery," he wrote. "Big respect as well for car #3, sorry for them. They had a great race, and Max proved for sure that he's an amazing driver and can adapt quickly to very tough conditions, but Nürburgring also picks its winners, and it's a tough one, as we know."
It was a sentiment that captured the brutal nature of endurance racing perfectly — talent, pace, and commitment are necessary but never sufficient at a circuit that has broken countless fancied challengers over the years. Verstappen proved he belongs in this world. The Nordschleife, for now, has the last word.
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.