Max Verstappen during the Italian Grand Prix. Photo: Race Pictures

Verstappen reveals key lessons from Nurburgring Nordschleife outing

14:51, 18 Sep

Updated: 15:52, 18 Sep

bySamson Ero

Max Verstappen has opened up on his outing at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. The Red Bull Racing driver also hinted at his long-term dream beyond Formula 1.

Max Verstappen during the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Photo: Race Pictures

“My dream is eventually to do the 24-hour race.”

- Max Verstappen

Verstappen, who largely stole the spotlight with his appearance at the ADAC race weekend at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, was quizzed about his outing at the iconic ‘Green Hell’ during his interaction with the media at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The four-time world champion also touched on several other aspects of his outing at the circuit, which witnessed him earn his A-license for the GT3 category.

“I think I’m still mainly a Formula 1 driver for sure. What was it? It was good. I knew that I needed to get my permit, so I had to do that race in a GT4 car.”

“Of course, the car itself, downtuned, is not the most exciting to drive, but on the other hand, you still learn a lot from a day like that. Luckily, it rained a bit, then it was dry, so you got more experience on the track.”

Further speaking about his overall experience of driving in a slower car during his outing at the circuit, Verstappen continued:

“Dealing with traffic as a slower car, not always the easiest. The rest, just staying out of trouble, really. But at the end of the day, any kind of lap that you drive around there, in any kind of car, is always fun."

"You try to push it a bit. You see a lot of what is happening around you. The atmosphere is really good.”

Verstappen on his dream beyond F1

The Red Bull Racing driver also highlighted how his dream beyond Formula 1 remains racing at the 24 Hours endurance race at the Nurburgring.

“It’s kind of my hobby as well, racing in other kinds of motorsport than just F1. And of course, my dream is eventually to do the 24-hour race, so I knew that the licence needed to come. So it was the perfect opportunity to do so.”

When quizzed about the school day process he had to go through, Verstappen, lauding the parties involved, highlighted how smooth the process was over the weekend.

“I think they were super helpful with me. Of course, we talked to them about how we could make it as smooth as possible. Because with some things, like sitting in the classroom for example, it’s better to just… like we did, we went on the track, we did a lap, and we explained a bit more of the things."

"It’s also not that I’m a total rookie to the track. Sometimes people are fully amateur; they don’t even know the track, right? So then it needs a different kind of coaching. But I’ve already done thousands of laps around there, plus the tests that I did before.”

“But honestly, they were always very helpful. I know, of course, rules are rules, so you have to stick to them. But at the same time, they were very open-minded, and I think it worked out really well in the end.”

Max Verstappen on the 'Triple Crown'

Verstappen concluded by responding to talks about the possibility of him completing the triple crown. The Red Bull driver, however, stated he was open to racing in Le Mans, but was quick to discard the possibility of participating in the Indy 500.

“Le Mans, yes, but I'm not interested in the Triple Crown. I enjoy watching IndyCar, but I do not need to drive it myself.”

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