Verstappen to NASCAR after GT racing exploits? 'He's eager to try'

Beyond his achievements in Formula 1, the Dutchman has also made headlines by impressing the motorsport world with his competitiveness at the Nordschleife. Over the past two years, he has competed in several GT events, including the iconic 24 Hours of the Nürburgring, where he looked on course for victory before technical issues forced him to retire.

Appearing on the SPEED with Harvick and Buxton show, Marks revealed that Verstappen has expressed genuine interest in racing in the NASCAR Cup Series in the future. He explained that discussions had already taken place through Red Bull, adding that while such a move would be difficult to arrange at the moment, he would not rule it out further down the line.

Should such a move eventually materialise, Verstappen would join a long list of former Formula 1 world champions who have tried their hand at the top level of stock car racing in the United States, including Kimi Raikkonen, Jenson Button and Jacques Villeneuve.

Stefan Wendl, Head of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing, believes Verstappen Racing's switch to Mercedes-AMG, combined with Max Verstappen's GT racing programme, has significantly raised the profile of the manufacturer's customer racing division. In his view, the Dutchman's presence has not only attracted greater attention to Mercedes-AMG Motorsport but has also contributed to a wider resurgence in interest in GT racing.

Reflecting on the season so far, Wendl described Mercedes-AMG's overall success across multiple championships as particularly satisfying, while admitting that the long-awaited overall victory at the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring was a landmark achievement for everyone involved in Affalterbach. He also stressed that victories and strong results around the world, both overall and in class, have made the campaign especially rewarding.

Although Verstappen Racing was forced to retire from the Nürburgring 24 Hours because of technical problems, Wendl insisted that Verstappen's participation remained one of the standout moments of the season, bringing unprecedented exposure to Mercedes-AMG's customer racing programme.