Max Verstappen has added another milestone to his career by earning his Nürburgring Nordschleife Permit A, allowing him to compete in GT3 machinery on the iconic circuit. The Red Bull driver completed the required 14 laps during his debut in the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie, despite challenging conditions with rain and reduced power.
Ordinarily, the rules demand Nürburgring Nordschleife experience in two separate cars, but after one of Verstappen’s entries was damaged, officials reviewed the case and confirmed his eligibility. Verstappen ended the day seventh in class and 27th overall — more than enough to secure the licence.
News of his achievement quickly spread through the Formula 1 paddock, where several of his peers were asked for their thoughts on Verstappen’s latest racing adventure.
Gasly: “For pure excitement, just for your own pleasure”
Pierre Gasly praised Verstappen’s willingness to explore other forms of racing. “I wouldn’t mind right now for the end of the year trying different cars,” he said. “But I think, in general, as a motorsport fan and lover, if you have the opportunity or the environment to make these things happen, for sure it’s something that must be very exciting.”
“In the future, clearly, I want to probably try different tracks, different categories just for pure excitement — just for your own pleasure.”
Hülkenberg: “Hats off to Max”
Nico Hülkenberg, who famously raced in and won Le Mans during his F1 career, applauded Verstappen’s passion. “Just, you know, honourable how much he loves racing — how much time he puts into it. Formula 1, sim stuff, GT — he’s just such a passionate racer, fully committed to it, 24/7, lives and breathes it. I kind of admire it,” said Hülkenberg.
Reflecting on his own sports car experience, he added, “It was very refreshing. A refreshing distraction. It’s a different racing environment.”
“I dipped into it, had a few tests and then two race weekends and events. But if I look back on that year, obviously doing Le Mans was very successful, and at the same time, it didn’t hurt my F1 on-track performance. Quite the opposite, I think.”
Piastri: “You’d want to do some laps beforehand”
Oscar Piastri suggested that while he was open to the idea of racing outside of Formula 1, time constraints made it difficult. “Maybe in the future. I think, right now, I’m quite happy with where I am. But potentially in the future. I think the biggest thing for me would just be giving that opportunity the respect it deserves,” Piastri explained.
“Racing at Le Mans, or Nürburgring, or whatever it might be — it wouldn’t be the wisest to just jump straight into a race. You’d want to do some laps beforehand. At the moment, time in the Formula 1 season is hard to come by.”
Lawson: “It’s exciting”
Liam Lawson drew from his own Nürburgring experiences. “It’s something — especially that track itself… I’ve never done it in a race car, I’ve only done in a road car. I raced the GP circuit in DTM, but me and Alex Albon took a couple of rental cars, jumped on a WhatsApp call, and raced each other around the Nordschleife, which was pretty fun,” Lawson recalled.
“It’s an amazing track — there’s not really anything else like it in the world. Max likes racing — he’s very clear about that. In those kinds of cars as well, I loved my season in DTM. The racing is very close, it’s exciting. As drivers, you get a lot closer to each other, and it feels a lot closer. It’s very difficult to do that in Formula 1. So it’s exciting.”
Stroll: “It’s fun to change discipline”
Lance Stroll, who has competed in endurance racing himself, described the appeal of switching categories. “It’s cool. For us drivers, it’s fun to change discipline and challenge ourselves in different ways. It’s fun to feel different cars and experience different kinds of racing,” he said.
“My experience from endurance racing was a lot of fun sharing the car – aside from waking up at 3am with half an hour’s sleep and jumping in and going for three hours. It’s a grind for sure, but it’s cool.”
Antonelli: “GTs are very different”
Young Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli said GT racing was already part of his development. “I do drive quite a lot of GT cars because of my dad — he has the racing team — so I do end up driving GT quite a lot as well. Even though it’s a different car, it’s still really good training to prove your skills — you have to adapt,” said Antonelli.
“Obviously GTs have very different behaviour compared to a Formula 1 car. I also did a race two years ago with a GT, which was a different experience but quite fun. So maybe in the future, why not?”
Bearman: “So cool to see”
Ollie Bearman, the youngest driver in the conversation, admired Verstappen’s freedom to explore. “I mean, I hope I’m at the stage one day in my career where I can do like Max and just drive whatever he wants and do it for pure passion. It’s so impressive to see what he’s able to do,” Bearman said. “For a group of us guys who are all just passionate about racing cars, that’s so cool to see.”
When asked whether he’s driven the track before, Bearman was quick to recall a memory with his family. “Only on the simulator,” he admitted. “Actually, I did one lap with my dad when I was racing at the GP circuit in German F4. It was during COVID, so we had our family SUV, driven from the UK.”
“Audi Q7. I was like 15, so I couldn’t drive it. Basically, I was the co-driver. You can buy one or three. We bought three laps. We did one with my mom in the back and I had to go in the front to tell my dad what corner was coming next because I knew the track, and he didn’t.”
“I was like, this one’s flat, this one’s a lift, or whatever. With this Audi Q7, a big SUV. Then after that, my mom got out because she was screaming the entire lap. On lap two, we went again and went a little bit quicker, but then at the end of the lap, we stopped, and the brake fluid was coming out of the callipers. That wasn’t great. We decided not to do the final lap because we needed that car for the school run the next day.”
Norris: “I would love it”
Lando Norris admitted endurance racing was firmly on his radar. “I would love to. I saw Zak [Brown] spoke about it the other day with Le Mans as well. With McLaren going to Le Mans.” Norris admitted, “I would love it. I am not going to be in Formula 1 forever. I want to go and do other things and live my life. Try other things,” Norris said.
“I love doing Daytona. I did it with Fernando [Alonso]. It was a cool experience for me at the time. But whether it is Le Mans, Daytona, Sebring, whatever it might be. I want to go and do other things. I think the main thing I probably will never do is oval racing. Just not for me.”
Norris also reflected on Verstappen’s ability to take on such challenges. “I respect Max for going and doing such a thing. He is in a much easier position to go and do those things. If he is fighting for a championship, it probably would not look the best. He is in a position where he has also won four world championships.”
“He is still miles off a championship this year. It can still be possible if Red Bull will turn things around. It is a bit of an easier time than maybe what me and Oscar do at the minute. But certainly in my future, I will go and do it because I think I have the same want and desire as Max to go and do other things. Just to go and do whatever I enjoy.”
By earning his Nürburgring Nordschleife permit, Verstappen has opened the door to one of motorsport’s most demanding arenas. The reaction from the F1 paddock shows just how much respect exists for GT and endurance racing — and how many of today’s stars may be tempted to follow a similar path in the future.
