Where AMG driver Daniel Juncadella could save himself after his surprise DTM exit from GruppeM and how much encouragement he receives from his ex-colleagues
What will become of Daniel Juncadella in 2022? The 30-year-old Catalan, who made his second DTM comeback after 2018 with the Mercedes-AMG GruppeM team last year and took a podium finish, was given no consideration in the cockpit battle this year
And clarifies on ‘Instagram’: “I will not be racing in the DTM in 2022. This may look like a wrong move to some, but I’m happy to have made the right decision for my future together with Mercedes-AMG.”
He holds no grudges against his ex-team, which is relying on veteran Maro Engel and rookie Mikael Grenier this year. “I wish GruppeM Racing nothing but the best for the coming season,” he writes. “Hopefully they can build on what we started last year and be successful. “
Juncadella in second ZVO Mercedes in ADAC GT Masters?
On his statement, Juncadella received encouragement from DTM drivers such as fellow AMG driver and champion Maximilian Götz, successor Engel, BMW rival Marco Witmann and Abt Audi driver Kelvin van der Linde, who said that the DTM had “lost an absolute legend” with Juncadella and that he would be counting on his return. Juncadella’s reaction: “Thanks for your words, mate. I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”
But what options does Juncadella have after the DTM retirement? The Barcelona man, who made his DTM debut in 2013 and celebrated his only victory at Zandvoort in 2018, is on his way to the ADAC GT Masters after the surprise end at GruppeM.
His target is likely to be the new ZVO team of Philipp Zakowski and DTM legend Jörg van Ommen, who have already announced the entry of a superbly crewed Mercedes-AMG GT3 on Sunday, driven by AMG drivers Jules Gounon and Fabian Schiller.
Project would harmonise with AKKA programme in GTWCE
One hears that a second bolide is still a topic – and there could be room for Juncadella, who has also been confirmed by Mercedes-AMG as a performance driver (highest category) in 2022.
Such a programme would make sense for Juncadella, as it could be perfectly combined with an endurance season in the GT World Challenge Europe (GTWCE), where the Mercedes-AMG team AKKA ASP is planning a Pro car with Raffaele Marciello, Gounon and Juncadella.
The French team already raced in this line-up for the first three races in 2021, but then had to do without Juncadella, who was replaced by Brazilian Felipe Fraga, due to overlaps with the DTM. This would no longer be necessary in 2022, as the calendars of the ADAC GT Masters and the SRO Series are aligned.
Juncadella would be entering new territory with the ADAC GT Masters. It had actually already been planned in 2020 for him to switch to the DTM rival series together with then teammate Jake Dennis after the DTM retirement of Aston Martin licensee R-Motorsport and drive the Swiss team’s Vantage GT3 there, but the project did not materialise.
