13-time grand prix winner David Coulthard has questioned whether any current F1 driver other than Max Verstappen would be willing to take the risk of competing at the Nordschleife.
Verstappen recently took part in the Nürburgring 24 Hours, having prepared for the event with several outings in shorter endurance races earlier this year.
The Nordschleife is regarded as one of the most iconic circuits in motorsport, but it is also notoriously dangerous.
The risks associated with the track were highlighted again last month when Juha Miettinen lost his life during a race at the circuit.
Speaking on the Up to Speed podcast, Coulthard stated that Verstappen’s venture at the Nordschleife should not be dismissed as a routine achievement.
“That is a scary race track, I’ve been around that and the commitment at that level you need to have to be competitive, to be at the front…,” he said.
“Sadly we reported on this podcast a couple of weeks ago there was a driver who lost his life on that very track, such as the nature of the challenge of the race track.
“We should not just look at it as ‘Max loves driving so much, he’s just out having fun on the weekends’.
“If he was doing that, he could go to any of the FIA-regulated tracks that are very similar to the current F1 tracks.”
Coulthard has theorised that no other current driver would be open to the task of taking on the track alongside their F1 duties.
“To go there, this is old school commitment and that’s what sets him apart from the others,” he said.
“The others are technically very good racing drivers. There’s no question about it.
“I would question whether any other driver on the F1 grid right now would accept the challenge to go and race at the Nurburgring.”
