Max Verstappen made his long-awaited GT3 debut on the Nürburgring Nordschleife – and delivered the kind of performance that left no doubt about his adaptability to a very different motorsport discipline.
The four-time Formula 1 world champion stormed to victory in the NLS round with Emil Frey Racing, partnered by 22-year-old Briton Chris Lulham.
Starting from third on the grid, Verstappen wasted no time, muscling his Ferrari 296 GT3 into the lead on the opening lap.
From there, he produced a relentless display of pace and precision, pulling out nearly a minute’s advantage over the chasing pack during his double stint.
“The first two stints went really well, the car worked perfectly in the dry,” Verstappen said.
“We had a bit of bad luck in qualifying, but in the race everything with the traffic worked out fine. I think I didn’t make any major mistakes in those two stints. And to win here on my very first attempt – that’s just fantastic.”
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After handing the car to Lulham, the young Briton managed the gap to bring the Ferrari home 24.5 seconds clear of the Ford Mustang GT3 shared by Dennis Fetzer, Jann Mardenborough and Fabio Scherer.
Eyes on the Nürburgring 24 Hours
For Verstappen, the win was more than just a debut triumph – it also whetted his appetite for an even bigger challenge.
“Of course, I would really like to compete in the 24 Hours at some point,” he admitted.
“If it happens next year, I’ll say so – but we still need more experience. That’s the way it is, so hopefully we’ll do more races here next year.”
Ahead of celebrating his 28th birthday on September 30, Verstappen has shown yet again that whether it’s Formula 1 or endurance racing’s most fearsome circuit, he’s a driver who simply knows how to win.
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