Russell refuses to rule out Verstappen partnership at the Nurburgring

Verstappen, together with his Verstappen Racing teammates Lucas Auer, Jules Gounon, and Dani Juncadella in the red Bull-liveried Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo finished P38 after the mechanical problem, eventually getting back on track after 21 laps for a ceremonial final run.

The Dutchman is nonetheless hoping to have another shot at the "brutal" race in Germany, insisting he has "unfinished business" at the Green Hell. On Thursday's Canadian GP media day, Verstappen told GPblog and others: "I think, overall, it was just a great week. "Yeah, I enjoyed it a lot. Of course, it was going to be my first big endurance race and everything went really well. We had the car in good shape, I think we executed it very well."

When asked on the potential of a return, he said: "I do feel of course that it's a bit of unfinished business. I want to win it, so I want to go back. But of course the calendar needs to allow it, but it's definitely a race that I want to do more of."

Several race drivers, both in and outside of F1, have praised Verstappen's increased participation in endurance racing, which has come while the Dutchman continues to criticise the 2026 F1 regulations. McLaren's Lando Norris has said he's been watching and supporting Verstappen during his races, while this year's N24 winner Maro Engel praised the Red Bull driver for his impact on the GT racing world.

Another driver with a keen eye on Verstappen is Mercedes' Russell - while the two have not always got along during their time in F1, the Briton told GPblog "never say never" when asked on the possibility of one day racing with Verstappen at the Nurburgring.

Russell said: "Never say never. Who knows? Max is obviously one of the best. I was asked a lot, obviously last year, about being teammates with him, but more in Formula 1 rather than sharing a seat."

Earlier in the Canadian GP press conference, Russell pinpointed the Nurburgring and Bathurst as two events he could race at one day, before praising Verstappen's performance last weekend. The Briton did, however, admit he was in a different stage of his career to Verstappen, who is in the "luxurious position" to be able to participate at such races.

Although Verstappen did not seem quite as enthusiastic about that prospect of racing with Russell at the Nurburgring, agreeing with his Mercedes rival that the two are in different stages of their F1 careers, the Red Bull driver was still encouraged by the level of interest shown in endurance racing by his F1 peers.

Verstappen said: "Yeah, but I think I'm also in a little bit of a different situation, in the F1 championships, in F1. Of course, I'm busy with my whole GT3 project. So I think we are a little bit in a different position, and I think for him, the focus is at the moment fully on Formula 1. But it's cool, you know, a lot of drivers were texting me and following it. So I think that's always nice to see that."