Maro Engel has extended his contract with Mercedes-AMG: What unfinished business does the 40-year-old still want to settle, and where does he see his future?
Just a few weeks ago, Maro Engel extended his contract with Mercedes-AMG. The factory driver, who has impressed with his tremendous consistency over the past two years, finishing third in the drivers’ standings each time, celebrated his 40th birthday this year. Nevertheless, he is not thinking about ending his career.
But what goals does the Monegasque resident still have for the future? “I would love to win races or championships that I have already won again, but there are also a few that I haven’t won yet,” he smiles. “For example, the DTM title. That is certainly a big goal.”
Engel, who has completed nine DTM years to date – and made his first comeback in the traditional series in 2017 and his second in 2022 – has so far secured one victory in the Class 1 era and one in the GT3 era, but a total of 15 podium places.
Engel, the man for difficult race tracks
The GT3 specialist, who also consistently performs well on the Nordschleife and in the rain, has clearly been on an upward trajectory in the DTM over the past two years.
Speaking of the Nürburgring Nordschleife: Engel won the 24-hour race in 2016 on what is perhaps the most difficult race track in the world, and he also claimed four victories in the GT classic in the urban canyons of Macau. In 2021, he took the GTD victory at the 24-hour race in Daytona, and in 2023, he also claimed the GTD Pro victory in Florida.
Engel also became champion of the former Blancpain Endurance Series in 2018, and in 2024 he repeated his sprint title in the successor series, GT World Challenge Europe. But what else is on his bucket list besides the DTM?
Which classics Engel has a score to settle with
“The 24-hour race at Spa hasn’t worked out yet. It’s similar with the 12-hour race at Bathurst,” he says, with two more classics on his list. “In that respect, we’ll roll up our sleeves and get on with it. The rest is racing and takes place on the track – you don’t always have that in your own hands. But that’s also the beauty of it.”
While other GT3 drivers dream of prototype racing or, like DTM champion Ayhancan Güven, are about to switch to Formula E, where Engel competed from 2016 to 2018, the Mercedes-AMG works driver sees his future clearly in GT3.
“This is my home,” he explains. “I enjoy it immensely, which is the most important thing. That’s why it’s so important to have motivation and goals. That’s the case here, and that’s why I feel so comfortable here.”