In a first step towards his dream racing career away from Formula One, Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen will be racing in the GT3 series this weekend at the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
Ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Verstappen was at the Nürburgring for a test in a Porsche Cayman GT4 car to secure his GT3 Permit A licence. His superior performance has now led him to race in the series he has been passionate about for a long time.
The four-time world champion has been confirmed to race in the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Series (NLS) and is set to race in a Ferrari 296 GT3 with Verstappen.com x Red Bull livery. He will race alongside British driver Chris Lulham with the Emil Frey Racing team.
Verstappen and his teammate will be competing for overall victory in the Pro class. The race is set to begin at 12:00 local time on Saturday, September 27, a week before the Singapore Grand Prix weekend.
Having driven on the 24.358 km long ‘Green Hell’ for thousands of laps on his simulator, the Dutchman stated that the Nürburgring was at the top of his list of tracks to race on. He said:
“The Nordschleife is at the top of my list of tracks I want to race on, as it’s extremely challenging and demanding, with its enormous length and tight historic layout.”
Speaking about his upcoming debut GT3 race and revealing his dream of eventually participating in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring, Verstappen said:
“It is my passion to do these kinds of GT3 races too. I can’t wait! I’m passionate about racing, also outside of Formula 1.
“Every lap at the Nordschleife is a different kind of experience. The atmosphere is also really good and there are a lot of endurance fans present.
“It’s my hobby to race in other categories than Formula 1. My dream is to eventually participate in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring Nordschleife.”
The announcement arrived three days after Verstappen secured his fourth Grand Prix of the 2025 season at the Baku City Circuit. He started on pole and led the race until the checkered flag. Newsweek Sports reported his comments:
“This weekend has been incredible for us. Monza was already great but for us to win here is fantastic.
“The car was working really well on both compounds. We had clean air all the time, so you could look after your tyres, and it was pretty straightforward.
“It’s never easy around here, very windy today, so the car was moving around a lot. I’m incredibly happy with this performance.”