Exclusive: Juncadella on racing with Verstappen, Genesis' debut WEC season, Le Mans and more!
- Owen Bradley
- Jun 10
- 6 min read
Daniel Juncadella has had a hectic start to the 2026 Sportscar season, racing across various different championships such as the World Endurance Championship with Genesis, and racing in the GT World Challenge with Mercedes. The Spaniard also competed at the Nürburgring 24 Hours alongside F1 world champion, Max Verstappen.
Juncadella is a highly acclaimed driver who has won the Intercontinental GT Challenge, Macau Grand Prix, GT World Challenge Endurance Cup, and has competed across the world in several large championships, in various different types of machinery.
DIVEBOMB's Owen Bradley sat down with Daniel Juncadella to discuss a variety of topics about the Spaniard's career and season so far.
When asked about racing at the Nürburgring 24 Hours with Max Verstappen, Juncadella stated:
"It was slightly overwhelming in the beginning, but once you get into that kind of environment, you just get comfortable with it. Pressure is something we've lived with throughout our whole career, of course it comes as an added pressure in the beginning, but we hang out a lot with Max, we speak every week, so you get confident into that sort of environment. Of course, it's not really at the back of your mind, but if you make a mistake, you're going to be blamed by many fans, many enthusiasts of Max, but that's part of the game. We are professionals, so we need to deliver."
Juncadella was part of a four-driver team at the Nürburgring 24 Hours, driving alongside Verstappen, Lucas Auer and Jules Gounon. The team were leading with four hours remaining, but unfortunately picked up a driveshaft issue that essentially ended their race for the win.
In the GT World Challenge Europe, Juncadella and the No.3 Verstappen Racing Mercedes squad consisting of Gounon and Chris Lulham, have scored a podium finish at Brands Hatch in the second race of the weekend. However, the Spaniard was disqualified from the first race, after taking the chequered flag.
Speaking about his 2026 GTWC season, Juncadella said: "The season has gone, strange in terms of results. A bit up and down. Paul Ricard was a tricky one, we lost a bit of performance through the night, unfortunately dropped from like a podium opportunity to ninth. Brands Hatch was incredibly competitive, we lost a win because of a mistake under the yellow flag, which should not happen but nevertheless it was a strong weekend, a win and P2 on track, so that shows the tendency that we are going through."
Unfortunately for the No.3 Verstappen Mercedes squad, they would be forced to retire the car at the GTWC in Monza after being involved in the monstrous first lap, first corner crash that saw several other cars retire from the race.
Looking across to the World Endurance Championship, this season is Juncadella's debut year in the Hypercar class, with newcomers, Genesis. The Korean manufacturer has already scored points in just their second race in the championship. Despite not yet scoring points himself with Genesis, the Spaniard spoke about their first quarter of the season as a team.
Juncadella stated: "It's an interesting season, I think the field is more stuffed up than in the past, and in particular with Genesis, we are closer than we expected in comparison to the whole pack. That's very interesting because it's a new car, we are in the early phase of the development and we are already fairly competitive, and the car feels extremely good, so that's very positive and very encouraging for the future."
Juncadella is one of a select few drivers in the world that drives in different Sportscar machinery throughout the season, driving both a Hypercar and GT cars. These cars operate very differently on many different levels in terms of performance.
Speaking about adapting from one driving style to another, he revealed: "I think it's always easier to jump into a Hypercar, in my experience. It's a car that suits me naturally because I'm coming from a single seater background, high downforce cars, that's what I learned, that's where I learned my driving skills, and that always comes naturally for me. Even though I don't have a lot of experience, it's my rookie year in Hypercar, but it just feels natural to me.
He continued: "Every time I go back into a GT car, it always takes a couple of laps to really understand, and I think it's easier to jump into a higher class, to a faster car, because everything is just better, or everything comes more natural, whereas in a slower class, you need to take a step back, it's easy to overdrive the car. I always feel like jumping into a Hypercar is easier."
Every championship has its' flagship event of the season. For IndyCar, it's the Indy 500, for the WEC, it's the Le Mans 24 Hours and for NASCAR, it's the Daytona 500. With Juncadella racing across several different Sportscar championships, it means that he competes in several of these flagship races during the season. The Spaniard has already competed at the Nürburgring 24 Hours, and is set to compete at the Le Mans 24 Hours later this year, in addition to his previous experience racing in IMSA at the 24 Hours of Daytona.
When asked if there is a particular race he would like to win in his career, Juncadella stated: "Nürburgring. The Nürburgring 24 Hours is my race, it's the race that I want to win one day. I was never really close until this year, it's the race that I want to keep doing until I win, and I think the day I get the chance to win the Nürburgring, a lot of my goals will be complete in racing. That doesn't mean that I'm going to stop racing, but it's just a monkey off the back, in the sense that - finally a race that I have a lot of love for, I would be able to win it. Le Mans is also a race I would like to win one day."
Across a Sportscar drivers' career, they often find themselves sharing a car with former rivals, or sharing a track with former teammates who have moved teams. When asked about his approach to this unique style of racing, he said: "I like that, being teammates with many people and being rivals."
Juncadella continued: "I always think, what comes around goes around, so you always need to try and be on good terms with everybody, you never know, in five years' time, you might be his teammate and so you always need to consider who you fight against. There's always drivers you don't like as much, and some you get along well with. I think I'm particularly a driver that gets along with everyone, I have a lot of friends who are rivals on track and also we spend a lot of time together outside of racing and we speak openly about stuff.
He added: "Of course, when it comes to a big win or a big fight on track, it's always going to be tricky but, it's part of the game and I love endurance racing in this sense that you get to share a lot of stuff with a lot of drivers, especially myself, I've always been linked to a certain manufacturer, Mercedes-AMG, but the last few years I've been jumping around a little bit, and that's nice because you get to experience other characters and you realise what works for you, and what doesn't."
Juncadella has enjoyed a thoroughly successful career in motorsport so far. From winning at Macau, to winning championships in several GT cups around the world, additionally winning flagship races such as the 24 Hours of Daytona and Spa-Francorchamps - Juncadella is a highly accomplished driver.
Asked about his career highlight, and how achieving his goals has affected his motivation levels, he revealed: "I think the Macau Grand Prix, definitely that race, it was 15 years ago nearly, but it's a race that when I was young, it's like your main event, it's a big stage. That was a career-changing moment, for me, winning that race. Many people say that you can make it to Formula One, if you win Macau.
He added: "It was a big thing, but I was 20 years old, so I was early in my career and the motivation just kept growing, whereas now I'm 35 years old, so I'm in a different stage. Also personally, not just in terms of result but I also fought through a lot of self-confidence issues up to that race, and then when I won that I thought 'okay, maybe I am pretty good at this!' So I have a really good memory of that one."
Dani Juncadella will be competing this weekend at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Genesis, in just their third race weekend together, and the Spaniard's debut at the event in a Hypercar.
A huge thanks to Dani and the rest of the team for their time, and for making this interview possible.
Comments