42-year-old former F1 driver set to return to DTM with McLaren

Former F1 driver Timo Glock will return to the German touring car championship in 2025. Glock, who has driven in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters series since 2013 with BMW, is returning for the 2025 season after a three-year break. He will be joining the Dörr Motorsport team for the upcoming season driving a Mclaren 720S GT3 EVO.

Glock debuted in F1 as a stand-in for Giorgio Pantano in the Jordan Ford team in 2004. The 42-year-old rejoined F1 during the 2008 to 2012 seasons driving for three teams, after his GP2 title win in 2007.

When the German driver came onto the grid in 2008, it was for Panasonic Toyota racing, with whom he achieved P10 in the drivers championships for two years in a row. From there, he joined Virgin Cosworth Racing for the 2010 and 2011 seasons and finally finished his tenure with Marussia Cosworth for the 2012 season. During his time in Formula 1, his most notable achievements were the three podiums he won driving for the Toyota team.

After his time in the sport, Timo Glock joined the BMW team in the DTM from 2013 to 2022, achieving five race wins, six pole positions, and 15 podiums with the German team. Speaking to Autosport Magazine about re-joining DTM with Dörr Motorsport after three years away from the championship, he said:

"The contact and my passion for the DTM have never completely broken off. [...] I think the project is very good and exciting. Dorr Motorsport wants to take the next step with me - I am proud of that."

Dörr Motorsport debuted in DTM earlier this year and will go into its second season with Glock as he replaces Austrian driver Clemens Schmid.

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Timo Glock on moving to DTM from F1

Timo Glock in a Marussia Cosworth car in 2012 - Brazil - Source: Getty

During an interview with RacingNews365, Glock spoke about the challenges of moving from driving in the F1 championship to DTM. Speaking with the publication in 2021 after Alex Albon was announced to be racing for the Red Bull-backed DTM team, Glock said:

"Gee, when I hear that Alex does not experience the switch from a Formula 1 car to a DTM car as easy, then I can only agree with him on that."

In talking about the differences between driving an F1 car and a car in the DTM, the German driver elaborated:

"I also had a hard time during my first year in the DTM, as the cars are completely different from F1 cars. It's not that you make the switch and are immediately successful, you need time to get used to the DTM machines. [...] There is just a lot involved to get the right feeling with a car and to adjust a bolide well. In addition, the tires also play a major role, as you can see in Formula 1. It takes time and a lot of work to handle the tires as well as possible, but in the end it will be alright."

Glock completed his tenure in F1 having accumulated 51 points, six top-5s, and 21 top-10s during his time in the 2004 and 2008 to 2012 championships.