Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen taking victory in his first GT3 race on the Nurburgring Nordschleife made headlines and set the motorsport world buzzing.
Despite the almost casual ease with which he dominated the rest of the NLS field, it would be a mistake to think it will always come this easily – and Verstappen himself knows it.
Verstappen appearing on more endurance racing grids is eagerly anticipated by promoters, but also by the rivals he will face. So what impact did his win on Saturday really have on the endurance world?
The GT stars’ take
You can be a professional driver and still be a fan. Just ask Fabio Scherer. After finishing second last Saturday in the #9 Ford Mustang, he couldn’t resist snapping a selfie with the four-time F1 champion.
“Standing on the podium next to Max Verstappen – one of the greatest drivers of all time – was truly surreal,” wrote the official Ford Performance Junior Driver on Instagram. “And honestly, it was super cool to battle with Max and fight for a win out there. Moments like this remind me why I love racing so much.”
There were no fewer than 10 Nurburgring 24 Hours winners on the grid for last weekend’s Fuji World Endurance Championship round, plus fellow winners Nick Tandy and Timo Bernhard present but not driving.
“Of course we kept an eye on the NLS,” said Porsche factory driver Kévin Estre, Nurburgring 24 Hours winner in 2021.
“On Saturday evening during dinner with Laurens [Vanthoor], we watched the start of the race. It’s actually funny to see how the number of viewers dropped as soon as he stepped out of the car.”
Daniel Juncadella also posted a funny Instagram story just before the start, showing Verstappen’s Ferrari with the caption: “popcorn ready”.
“I like the fact that a driver of his calibre takes an interest in these races,” added Frédéric Makowiecki, 2018 Nürburgring 24 Hours winner.
“He went through the Permit process without complaint, despite being a four-time F1 world champion, and that’s further proof of the respect he shows to the rest of the motorsport world.”
“It’s great that he did it, and I think it was very good that the DMSB didn’t grant him any special treatment,” added Estre. “The Nordschleife is still a unique circuit with its own rules. Should he really have had to pass his permit in an underpowered Porsche Cayman GT4? That’s a valid question. But in the same way, at the Le Mans 24 Hours everyone has to go through the simulator beforehand.”
And all drivers, except those with Platinum status, must also complete ten laps at the Le Mans test day.
All in all, the Red Bull F1 star’s interest in GT3 has been welcomed by the regulars. Some are even looking forward to going up against him, such as Raffaele Marciello, who won at the Nurburgring last June with BMW and is a former Ferrari Driver Academy member.
“For sure we’ll have to fight him,” Marciello told The Race. “He’s one of the best in the world. So it will be tough.
“But it’s always nice when someone of his level comes to GT. Because then, if you do well against him, people realise we also have good drivers here.”
Is the hardest part still to come?
Though Verstappen and team-mate Chris Lulham won on Saturday with more than a 20-second margin, when Verstappen climbed out of the car, he had built a lead of over a minute. But is that gap really telling?
“First of all, the field was in no way comparable to the Nürburgring 24 Hours,” Estre told The Race.
“I had no doubt about his ability to go fast. He’s probably the best driver in the world today. He also already has good experience in GT3 cars from private testing, and he’s logged hours on the Nordschleife in simracing.”
Yes, but isn’t simracing very different from reality?
“Yes, exactly,” replied Estre. “And to be honest, the Nordschleife – with its layout, the number of cars, the coexistence with gentleman drivers and the big speed differences between cars – is very, very particular.
“We’ve all been caught out at some point, and I think it will happen to him too. I saw that he overtook a backmarker with two wheels on the grass. It ended well there, but that’s not always the case.”
“After that, it would be interesting to see him share the car with pro drivers,” Estre continued. “And I think that will happen if he enters the Nürburgring 24 Hours.
“If he wants to fight for victory, he’ll have to be paired with reference drivers. Among my team-mates and me, on a lap, there’s no more than two seconds.
“So it would be interesting to see him alongside a Ferrari GT3 specialist like Alessandro Pier Guidi. I wouldn’t be surprised if he were slightly quicker, because as I said I think he’s the best driver in the world today, but I don’t think he’d be five seconds faster either.”
The Nürburgring 24 Hours will be a whole different story. More at stake, a longer week, fatigue, tougher rivals, and the challenge of racing through the night… we can’t wait to see him there.
Was there a Verstappen effect on the NLS?
The NLS has already welcomed plenty of celebrities – rapper Smudo, former professional footballer Max Kruse, former PSA/Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, or former Toyota boss Akio Toyoda. But this time was different.
Before Verstappen’s arrival, VLN Sport – the series promoter – had numerous discussions with the Red Bull driver’s management. His appearances inevitably required special planning, particularly regarding safety. There is always plenty of action around Verstappen – in the paddock, in the pitlane, and of course on the grid. But a VLN spokesperson stressed: “Everything went very smoothly on site.”
Unsurprisingly, NLS7 and NLS9, the two races Verstappen contested, attracted special interest from fans. Not enough, though, to break the Nürburgring Endurance Series’ ticket sales records. The livestream, however, performed better than ever, giving the series worldwide exposure – even in countries that had never shown much interest in this very German championship.
“Global interest was naturally somewhat greater with Max,” a VLN Sport spokesperson told us. Accordingly, the access to live streams and videos was very good. His race in the Porsche Cayman GT4 drew around 20 million views. When we contacted them, viewing figures for his GT3 debut were not yet available.
“It was a fantastic experience to see Max drive in the NLS, and I was personally impressed by his performance,” VLN Sport GmbH & Co. KG managing director Mike Jäger told The Race.
“He showed himself to be a true racer, and even though he certainly wasn’t keen on the permit, he just went and did it. I believe the experience of racing here with the underpowered Cayman was very beneficial for him personally.
“We are grateful that he has brought us such international attention and are already looking forward to his announcement that he will be racing with us again in the future,” he added.
“The fact that the reigning Formula 1 world champion is racing GT3 on the Nordschleife is not only good for us, the track and the region, but also for GT racing worldwide.”
Following Alonso’s example
Verstappen contesting Nürburgring Endurance Series races in gaps between F1 races inevitably recalls 2018, when Fernando Alonso raced in the Daytona 24 Hours at the wheel of a United Autosports Ligier LMP2 and contested the 2018-19 WEC season with Toyota while also contesting his final F1 season with McLaren before stepping away in 2019 and 2020.
Alonso is very likely the F1 driver Verstappen respects the most, and the feeling is mutual. Their appetite for other disciplines of motorsport is certainly a factor. They’re two drivers with much in common, old-school racers like we hardly see anymore, reminiscent of their 1970s counterparts. Back then, drivers would contest F1 and the World Endurance Championship in the same year, while also racing the Indianapolis 500 or even the Monte Carlo Rally.
Verstappen’s smile on the Nurburgring podium was genuine, just like Alonso’s when he won with Toyota in the WEC. It’s likely they’re enjoying the same elements of endurance – and Verstappen will surely emulate Alonso’s thorough approach to the bigger races.
“I have enjoyed being part of Toyota Gazoo Racing in WEC,” Alonso explained back then. “Winning Le Mans is one of the highlights of my career and I will always remember that. I love this race, this championship and the atmosphere.
“I loved the team-mate atmosphere. Sébastien [Buemi] and Kazuki [Nakajima] have a lot of experience in endurance and they taught me a lot. If the team works better, it’s for your own benefit as well. We had so much fun together, they were amazing team-mates… That was the thing that I liked most in endurance: the team camaraderie.”
Just like Verstappen, Alonso prepared meticulously. And more than his outright speed, it was his commitment, humility and seriousness that impressed everyone. The Toyota LMP1 steering wheel manual had become his bedside book.
“When he arrived for the first race, he knew how the steering wheel worked almost better than we did,” joked Buemi, who became close friends with Alonso.
And while IndyCar doesn’t appeal to Verstappen, the Le Mans 24 Hours will surely be his next big challenge. He has also admitted that he wants to race the Sebring 12 Hours and the Daytona 24 Hours – an event Alonso won in 2019 at the wheel of Wayne Taylor Racing’s Cadillac V-Series.R. Once again, Verstappen has a ready-made role model in his Spanish elder. He will need to be willing to learn from more experienced team-mates, as this is also key to success.
Will he tackle all these challenges with Ford? It arrives in the WEC in 2027, one year after beginning its F1 partnership with Red Bull – as if the story were already written. And with four F1 world championships already under his belt, Verstappen is far from finished making history.