No rest for Max Verstappen. Fresh from two consecutive Formula 1 victories, the four-time world champion is about to take on a completely different challenge: tackling the legendary Nürburgring once again. But this time, the Dutchman won't be making do with a restricted car as he did on his first experience. On Saturday September 27, he'll be lining up at the start of the ninth round of the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS) championship, at the wheel of a Ferrari 296 GT3 entered by Emil Frey Racing.
From GT4 to GT3
Just a few weeks ago, Verstappen was driving a Porsche Cayman GT4, forced to limit its performance simply to obtain the famous "A-Permit" required to compete on the Nordschleife in the GT3 category. Mission accomplished. Now he's allowed to drive top-category machines and compete on equal terms with the endurance specialists.
"It's my passion to drive this kind of race in GT3. Every lap on the Nordschleife is a unique experience. The atmosphere is incredible and I really enjoy racing outside F1," confides Verstappen, who makes no secret of his dream of one day taking part in the legendary 24 Hours of Nürburgring.
The Dutchman will line up alongside Chris Lulham, driver of his Verstappen.com Racing team, with whom he already competes in GT World Challenge Europe. The Ferrari 296 GT3 will carry his team's usual colors, confirming the champion's growing involvement in these programs outside Formula 1.
The event, dubbed ADAC Barbarossapreis, will be a four-hour endurance race, starting at midday. The GT3 field will be relatively small - just eleven cars - but attention will inevitably be focused on "Super Max". All the more so as we remember his first appearance at the Nürburgring, under the pseudonym "Franz Hermann", where he already impressed by beating established benchmarks.
A foretaste of the 24 Hours?
Behind this participation lies a more ambitious project: preparing a future entry in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring. Helmut Marko, advisor to Red Bull Racing, has confirmed that Verstappen should aim for the 2026 edition, taking advantage of an F1 calendar that would offer an ideal window of opportunity.
In the meantime, the Dutchman is honing his experience. Ever since he started out, he's always maintained that he didn't want to limit his career to Formula 1, but endurance racing offers him an ideal playground in which to express his passion. Between the Azerbaijan and Singapore GPs, he's taking a break from the world of motorsport.
Audiences at the Nürburgring, accustomed to the exploits of specialist endurance drivers, will this time have the opportunity to watch a four-time F1 world champion take on the "Green Hell" in real racing conditions. It's an experience that Verstappen wants to savour to the full:
"It's my hobby to race in categories other than Formula 1. My dream is to one day take part in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring," he recalls.
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