At the age of 26, Marco Wittmann is already a two-time champion in arguably the most competitive series outside of the Formula 1 World Championship. As a BMW factory driver, his strike rate in just four seasons in the DTM is truly impressive, his second title coming a month ago in a gripping showdown at Hockenheim with charging Audi star Edoardo Mortara.
When we say it's the most competitive series outside F1, that's because all 24 of the drivers over the past season are professionals who were there on merit. And that, Wittmann argues, in some ways makes it perhaps even stronger than F1.
Ask him whether, after clinching his first title in 2014 aged 24, he had thoughts of using it as a launchpad to the single-seater elite - as did Paul di Resta before him and Pascal Wehrlein afterwards - and he responds: "It definitely felt great to be champion, especially at that age. Of course there was always a bit of a thought, if there was a possibility to go to single-seaters, but I have to say I feel really comfortable in DTM together with BMW.