Verstappen tells another driver to 'not spread false things' on social media

Engel, a Mercedes GT driver and brand ambassador, had written some 'facts' about Verstappen's GT3 test on the Nordschleife, talking about his car setup and the balance of power he was running during his laps around the track.

However, according to the reigning Formula 1 world champion, these were incorrect, with the 27-year-old driver stating that Engel knew nothing about the car's setup or engine settings.

Engel's message on X read: "To the topic of the moment. Few facts to Franz Hermann GT3 Nordschleife Test: car was run in DTM spec BoP (less weight, more power, lower ride height than NLS BoP). Laptime: 7:48. Still impressive for a first visit to the green hell. Would be cool to see Franz compete!", he wrote on his account.

At twenty minutes past midnight, Verstappen responded to the German's message, who had already offered his apologies by then: "False. Don't spread things when you don't know how the car was setup and our engine settings. Why would I join an NLS track day with the wrong BOP. Have a good one tomorrow," followed by a thumbs-up.

As has become common knowledge, Franz Hermann is the name under which Verstappen participated in the test. The Dutch driver was asked if he could use a pseudonym for his test, and as a result, the German name was born.

The DTM team managers were impressed by Verstappen's performance. Thomas Voss mentioned that Franz Hermann is welcome to join the DTM. The German pseudonym for Verstappen was thus the name that circulated most in the paddock, but the official Formula 1 account also posted the results of the first free practice with Verstappen's new name.