Thierry Vermeulen arrives at Zandvoort determined to reset his season after a frustrating Nürburgring 24 Hours and a challenging start to the 2026 DTM campaign. The Dutch driver faces his home round with cautious optimism as he and his team continue to unlock the potential of Ferrari’s new Evo package.
At the same time, Vermeulen sees positive momentum across GT racing. Strong crowds at the Nürburgring and increasing demand for DTM tickets at Zandvoort underline the category’s growing popularity, particularly in the Netherlands. While competition remains incredibly close throughout the DTM field, Vermeulen believes steady progress could put him back into podium contention.
Vermeulen reflects on the growth of GT Racing ahead of home DTM race at Zandvoort
Vermeulen believes GT racing has entered a particularly healthy phase, with larger fan attendance, greater manufacturer interest and stronger championship grids all contributing to the category’s rise in popularity. The Dutchman pointed to the consistent growth over recent seasons as a major positive for drivers and teams alike.
“Yeah, I think in general, there’s been a continuous growth, especially, I would say, the last three years, where we can see more fans coming to the track, but also more interest all around the track. Also, many manufacturers coming with new cars. DTM, of course, having a strong grid again. So I think for all of us drivers, it’s great to see.”
Although Germany has traditionally provided a strong foundation for GT racing, Vermeulen believes the Netherlands has only recently started to embrace the discipline in the same way. He feels Dutch interest has accelerated significantly over the last few years.
“Difficult to judge. But I think in general, especially on the Dutch audience… I think in Germany, the GT sport has always had a very strong position, but I feel like for whatever reason, in Holland, it was never as big as in Germany.”
He also highlighted the impact fellow Dutch drivers, like four-time F1 World Champion Max Verstappen who recently competed in the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring, have had in increasing public attention towards GT and endurance racing, especially around the Nordschleife.
“And of course, with the help of fellow Dutchman Max [Verstappen], we see that also on the Nordschleife, but I would say in general, the interest in Holland has grown a lot the last couple of years. And of course, it’s great to see.”
Zandvoort represents a key weekend for Vermeulen after Nürburgring frustration
After enduring a frustrating Nürburgring 24 Hours weekend, Thierry Vermeulen now shifts his focus towards the next DTM round at Zandvoort, a circuit that always holds special importance for the Dutch driver. Competing on home soil brings additional attention and expectation, especially as Dutch motorsport interest continues to grow rapidly.
Although Zandvoort stands as his home event on the calendar, Vermeulen revealed an amusing geographical detail about where he actually lives in relation to the two famous circuits.
“Yes, absolutely. I always love going to Zandvoort. Actually, funny enough, the Nordschleife is closer to where I’m from in Holland than Zandvoort. But nevertheless, yeah, excited to go to Zandvoort.”
Beyond the emotional significance of racing in front of Dutch fans, Vermeulen also appreciates the challenge the circuit presents from a driving perspective. Zandvoort’s flowing corners, demanding layout and incredibly close qualifying sessions leave little margin for error throughout the weekend.
Because of that, he knows preparation from the very first practice session will prove crucial if he wants to fight near the front.
“Always a cool track to be going, close Qualifying and just a track I enjoy driving. So hopefully we can get going quite good on Friday and get the car in the window and go for some good points and hopefully podium.”
Vermeulen grounded despite podium ambitions
While Vermeulen enters the weekend hopeful of a strong result, he refuses to make overly confident predictions before the running begins. The Dutchman believes DTM remains one of the most difficult championships in world motorsport when it comes to forecasting performance because the competitive margins remain so incredibly small. Even so, he still carries the belief that a podium challenge remains possible.
“I mean, I always believe in it.”
However, Vermeulen stressed that confidence alone cannot guarantee results in such a tightly packed field. Small differences in setup, tyre behaviour or execution can completely alter the outcome of a race weekend.
“Like I said earlier, I think DTM, for me at least, is one of the most difficult championships to judge your result before the weekend starts. Just because it’s so tight.”
He explained that several variables combine to determine whether a driver competes at the front or slips backwards through the order over the course of the weekend.
“You, of course, have the car performances across all teams, your own performance, and all these factors can change your weekend very quickly. So, saying beforehand, ‘oh, I believe I can do a podium’, doesn’t really change anything.”
As a result, Vermeulen plans to approach Zandvoort with the same mindset he carries into every DTM event — maximising both the car package and his own performance step by step before thinking about the final result.
“For me, I will enter the weekend like every other weekend, try to maximise the performance on the car, try to maximise the performance on myself. And then, yes, I do believe we can hopefully fight for a podium. But let’s see how it all goes.”
Ferrari Evo package creates new challenges
One of the biggest talking points surrounding Vermeulen’s season so far centres on Ferrari’s new Evo package. Although the updates promised performance gains, the Dutchman admitted the team still struggles to fully understand the car’s behaviour, particularly during qualifying sessions.
He explained that the team has yet to consistently find the balance window they enjoyed last season.
“No, I don’t think we understand it good enough yet. I think in Brands Hatch, in GT World Challenge and in Red Bull Ring, we really struggled, especially in Qualifying, to get the car like we are used to it or to get it in a decent balance. And for this reason, I still believe there’s a lot of work to be done for us as a team.”
Despite the difficulties, Vermeulen remains convinced the team can gradually improve as they collect more data and continue analysing the package.
“But I do think that every weekend we’ll get a bit closer. And we had a lot of meetings. We spent a lot of time [over] the last weeks to try and understand why it is that it’s behaving differently than we expected. So hopefully, step by step, we’ll get closer to that target of getting the car in the window.”
He further revealed that the biggest issue currently appears during corner entry phases, where the car behaves less predictably than before.
“Especially in Qualifying, just the predictability of the car is not like last year. So especially the corner entries where we are struggling to get the balance right.”
Vermeulen acknowledges that Red Bull Ring exposed weaknesses
The opening DTM weekend at the Red Bull Ring underlined those ongoing issues. Vermeulen admitted the team failed to match the level of competitiveness it showed during the previous season.
“Yes, Red Bull Ring was definitely a step back compared to last year. Which I feel like in DTM, it’s very difficult to judge how your upcoming weekend is going to go. Just because the performance is so close, realistically, everyone has a chance to be at the front, so you kind of have to wait and see how it goes. I think for us it’s just important to focus on the car.”
Qualifying performance emerged as the biggest concern throughout the Austrian weekend, especially with the narrow margins separating the entire grid.
“I think in Red Bull Ring, especially in both Qualies, we were not so happy with the performance of the car. So that will be the focus for this weekend, is just to get the balance right and, of course, do a good lap myself as well. We have the new tyres, we have a new car as well, with a new Evo pack.”
Nevertheless, Vermeulen hopes smoother preparation and improved understanding can help the team move closer to the front at Zandvoort.
“So I hope that in Zandvoort we can have smooth running and just make another step forward in the points and towards the podium.”
Team changes require time to settle
Alongside technical developments, Vermeulen also entered 2026 with major personnel changes around him. The Dutchman now works with a new engineer, a revised pit crew and a different teammate after several years of continuity. He acknowledged that adapting to those changes naturally requires time.
“In general, there are quite some changes done in the team. I also have a new engineer this year, after working three years with the same engineer. So that always takes a bit of time as well to get used to each other. We have a new pit crew, which did an amazing job during the races in Red Bull Ring.”
Although the transition period continues, Vermeulen believes the new structure already shows encouraging signs.
“So there are some changes made in the team, which I think are working very well, but it always takes a bit of time just to get everything in sync. So that’s also why I’m looking forward to Zandvoort, to see if our work over the last weeks has helped to make that step towards the front.”
He also explained how the team strengthened its pit crew by bringing back a former member after additional experience elsewhere.
“Actually, one of them was originally already with us in DTM in 2023. And then went back to Winward, got some training, got really fast, and now we took him back, and we take all the advantage of that.”
Vermeulen believes that tyre behaviour could be crucial at 2026 DTM Zandvoort round
Another important talking point ahead of Zandvoort concerns the new Pirelli tyres introduced for the current DTM season. Many drivers expected greater degradation during the opening round, although the Red Bull Ring produced fewer dramatic tyre effects than anticipated.
Vermeulen admitted he expected larger performance drop-offs based on pre-season testing.
“Yeah, I think in Red Bull Ring also, I was expecting, going into the first round, that we had a bigger drop-off, also based on some of the pre-season DTM tyre testing we have done. But I’m curious to see, to be honest.”
However, he expects Zandvoort’s layout and potentially warmer temperatures to produce a very different picture.
“I’m still expecting in Zandvoort, especially with some higher temperatures, and of course a track that is definitely much higher deg than Red Bull Ring, I think there we will still see this effect a lot more. I mean, probably not to the extent like we had it in the pre-season testing, but I definitely think you will see some people losing or gaining positions towards the end of the tyre life.”
Vermeulen pushes for more street circuits
Looking beyond the current season, Vermeulen also welcomed discussions about expanding the DTM calendar with an additional race weekend. In particular, he wants the championship to embrace more street circuits and create a unique identity through unusual venues.
“Monaco, Monaco street track, another street track I’m voting. I already told them I think we should go to another street track.”
He believes DTM should continue differentiating itself by visiting locations that other major championships avoid.
“I’m hoping that we go to another street track at least, and I think we should go somewhere that no other championships are going. I think that is what is very important for DTM is to keep going to unique tracks, and I hope that it will be a street track. But I think in general the idea of a ninth race would be something I’m obviously for.”
Nürburgring frustration still fresh as Vermeulen looks ahead to 2026 Zandvoort DTM round
Finally, Vermeulen reflected briefly on the Nürburgring 24 Hours, where his race ended prematurely after an early accident. When asked about what he had learned from the experience, he replied in brutally simple terms: “To not crash.”
He then acknowledged the disappointment of such a difficult endurance race.
“For me, it was a difficult race, obviously. We had a crash quite early on. So that is something I will target not to do in Zandvoort.”
With growing Dutch support behind him, a demanding home race ahead and continued work underway to unlock the full potential of Ferrari’s Evo package, Vermeulen enters Zandvoort knowing that small improvements could make a significant difference. While the Nürburgring disappointment still lingers, the Dutch driver remains focused on delivering cleaner execution, stronger Qualifying performances and a genuine challenge for his first DTM podium on home soil.
