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Christian Klien raced in Formula 1 for three seasons and has competed in the 24 Hours of the Nurburgring himself. He understands both worlds, and his assessment of what Verstappen is doing by combining an active Formula 1 career with a serious endurance racing programme is unambiguous: only one driver on the current grid could pull this off, and only one team would allow it.
A Combination That Should Be Impossible
Klien was direct speaking to VLNFP. "I think this is normally impossible during a Formula 1 career. But if there is anyone who can combine this and afford to do so, it is Max Verstappen." The endorsement extended to Red Bull as an organisation. "Red Bull also deserves credit for that, because not many teams would allow a driver to race GT cars on top of everything else."
The historical comparison Klien reached for was Nico Hulkenberg, who raced at Le Mans while competing in Formula 1. But Klien argued that Verstappen's situation goes beyond even that precedent. A sprint-format season with compressed weekends, a championship challenge that could return at any moment, and a 24-hour race requiring night driving in a field of 161 cars. "Virtually unthinkable," was how he described it.
Respect for What It Means
The quality Klien admired most was not the speed but the willingness to be vulnerable. Verstappen is stepping into a discipline where the Nordschleife specialists have years of specific knowledge he does not have, and where the consequences of a mistake are severe. "Max simply loves racing, regardless of which category it is. He steps without hesitation into a category where he is not automatically the reference and where he puts everything on the line. Genuinely: hats off to him, I have enormous respect for that."
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