Martin taking a less difficult route to joining Mercedes-AMG

After last week’s announcement His departure from BMW for the second time Decorated sportscar racer Maxime Martin’s move to Mercedes-AMG was announced at the weekend.

“I am extremely happy to start a new chapter in my racing history together with the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport family,” the Belgian wrote on social media.

“It will be exciting to join the team as a #MercedesAMG Performance driver from 2025 and I am confident that together we can achieve great things. The journey ahead will be full of challenges, but I am ready and eager to face them .

“Can’t wait to go to work to contribute to the team’s successes and create great moments on the track, working together to achieve our goals.”

Martin’s likely first outing in his new surroundings will be at the Daytona 24 Hours in January, when customer team GetSpeed ​​announced he will be part of its GTD Pro line-up alongside Anthony Bartone, Luca Stolz and Fabian Schiller.

The 2016 Spa 24 Hours winner and 2020 Le Mans 24 Hours GTE Pro Class winner during his tenure at Aston Martin, joining Mercedes-AMG for a program that will include racing for new partner squad Iron Lynx in the World Endurance Championship, This is an interesting move. This is a notable trend.

The last time a BMW driver joined Mercedes-AMG was Lucas Auer in 2021, with the Austrian re-joining the brand after just one season when the DTM’s Class 1 era collapsed and it became clear that for him There were no seats at the table to continue in GT3. Era.

Perhaps more importantly, however, Mercedes-AMG is Returning to Le Mans next year for the first time since 1999 With its Iron Lynx LMGT3 category entry, it does not currently have a hypercar program.

BMW is one of a growing number of brands doing so, and Martin was part of the Bavarian marque’s endurance line-up in the IMSA SportsCar Championship in 2024, including the Daytona, Sebring 12 Hours and Petit Le Mans for its RLS-powered GTP team. Had competed with.

However, Jules Gounon remains under contract with Mercedes-AMG Announced as part of Alpine’s full-season WEC roster for next year Follows the trend of drivers looking for opportunities for outright victory in the greatest endurance races.

This also explains why Raffaele Marciello left Mercedes to join BMW at the end of 2023.

Under the leadership of Andreas Ross, BMW has become a hotbed of talent in recent years, This is the latest high-profile signing with Kevin Magnussen After leaving the Haas Formula 1 team.

Coming from a crowded scene at BMW, where he spent the last two years racing alongside Valentino Rossi in the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint, Martin’s experience suggests he is ready to play a central role in the plans of Mercedes-AMG customer racing boss Stefan Wendl. Are.

The 38-year-old, whose first stint at BMW included three DTM wins between 2014 and 2017, is certainly an asset as the manufacturer prepares a successor to its current GT3, which it launched in 2016 through newly founded Affalterbach Racing. Life had started. GmbH Company.

Along with Gounon, Martin is also one of the minority Mercedes drivers with hypercar experience, which will play in his favor if there are some more changes to the LMGT3 entry in the coming years.

#25 BMW Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8: Maxime Martin

Photo by: Michael L. Levitt/Motorsport Images

Mercedes has said that a provisional roster of 10 drivers “will be gradually expanded”. Gounon, Stolz and Schiller along with Maro Engel, Maxi Gotz, Ralf Aron, Phillip Ellis and Mikel Grenier have been formally retained, while Australian young gun Jayden Ojeda has signed as a junior driver.

Autosport’s sister title Motorsport-Total understands that Auer has not yet signed his contract and therefore has not been officially announced as a Mercedes-AMG works driver for 2025. But as things stand, it is believed that Engel will also be the 2024 GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup champion.

Martin’s teammates in the Iron Lynx in the WEC have not yet been announced.

I have always had great respect for Maxime,” said team principal Andrea Piccini.

“We have a friendly relationship, and we even had the chance to race together in 2013, where we finished second at the 24 Hours of Nurburgring. He’s a really strong driver, extremely fast, and particularly challenging. Able to master situations.

“I’ve seen him do extraordinary things throughout the years without making a mistake, which makes him a top contender, especially in long-distance running. If we add his experience and team-player ability, I honestly think “He is one of the best possible options for any team, and I am proud to welcome him to the Iron Lynx for the 2025 season.”

Meanwhile, another BMW departure announced in recent days is that of Bruno Spengler, who won the DTM title for the brand in 2012.

The 41-year-old Canadian, who joined BMW from Mercedes, was announced as the head of its new junior program last month.

“Leaving the BMW M Motorsport family was not an easy decision for me, but I am at a point in my career where a new challenge with a long-term perspective was important to me,” he said. “So I decided to take this step.”