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Max Verstappen is a man in a hurry. We didn’t need this latest announcement to know that. But just a week after his victory in Formula 1's Azerbaijan Grand Prix and only two weeks after securing his DMSB Nordschleife Permit Grade A, Max Verstappen will be making his racing debut on the Nürburgring at the wheel of a GT3 this Saturday, during NLS9.
The Dutchman is registered on the #31 Ferrari 296 GT3 fielded under the banner of Swiss outfit Emil Frey Racing. He will share the cockpit with Britain’s Chris Lulham, one of the leading figures of Team Redline, Max Verstappen’s own sim racing squad.
Chris Lulham earned his Permit Grade A at the same time as Max Verstappen. Last Sunday, he clinched the title and the victory in the Gold Class in GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup finale at Valencia. His team-mate was Thierry Vermeulen, whose father Raymond also happens to be Max Verstappen’s manager.
Considering the crowd that turned out for his appearance in NLS7 at the wheel of a Porsche Cayman GT4, it’s safe to say the Eifel mountains will once again attract a huge audience this Saturday.
Will Max Verstappen repeat the unbelievable unofficial laptime he set when he tested the Ferrari 296 GT3 under the pseudonym Franz Hermann? This time, the DMSB will be on hand to make it official.
A true motorsport addict, Max Verstappen is above all here to have fun. Still, it’s not hard to imagine that in the back of his mind, he’s already thinking about a possible entry in the 2026 Nürburgring 24 Hours (May 16–17). Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko even let the cat out of the bag last week in Baku, admitting that he had already given his approval.
"I think Helmut, yeah, he's very excited about it," Verstappen said when asked how valuable it is to have Red Bull's backing for his GT exploits.
"He sees also how passionate I am about it and what I'm doing for it. He has raced himself in endurance, so it's easy to relate.
"For me, yes, it's very important to be able to do those things. Of course, how much I can do during an F1 season is a bit tricky, right?
"Also, next year, new regulations, it's I think already hard enough in Formula 1. But we'll just see how everything goes.
"For me, it's impossible to say right now what will happen in five or 10 years on the F1 side or the GT side."
Next year's Nürburgring 24 Hours takes place on week before F1's Canadian Grand Prix, meaning Verstappen is theoretically 'free'.
It all brings to mind 2018, when Fernando Alonso took part in both the Daytona 24 Hours and the Le Mans 24 Hours while contesting the Formula 1 season with McLaren.
