Max Verstappen celebrating - Photo: Red Bull Content Pool

Verstappen’s 'pretty cool' GT3 leap gets thumbs up from F1 peers

08:32, 28 Sep

Updated: 10:28, 28 Sep

byTobia Elia

Liam Lawson and Kimi Antonelli shared their thoughts on Max Verstappen’s commitment at the Nordschleife, alongside his F1 racing duties.

“Max likes racing—he’s very clear about that. He loves racing on his sim.”

- Liam Lawson

Speaking in Baku, Lawson, who previously competed in the German series DTM, said: “It’s something—especially that track itself… I’ve never done it in a race car, I’ve only done it 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.

"It’s an amazing track—there’s not really anything else like it in the world, and it’s very original, which makes it special."

He then added: “In general, Max likes racing—he’s very clear about that. He loves racing on his sim, and when he gets a break it seems he’s going to another track to test or drive other cars, which for him is pretty cool. 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.”

Antonelli, who has also had the opportunity to drive GT cars because of his father, believes that driving these vehicles is still excellent training for a Formula 1 driver, as it helps develop various skills and adapt to different cars and driving styles.

“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,” the Italian began.

“Even though it’s a different car, it’s still really good training to prove your skills—you have to adapt to a different car. Obviously GTs have very different behaviour compared to a Formula 1 car.”

He finally said: “When I go into GT, I try to challenge myself and get up to speed as quickly as possible. 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?”

Max Verstappen smiling - Photo: Red Bull Content Pool

Verstappen takes maiden GT3 victory

On Saturday, the four-time world champion tackled his first GT3 race at the 'Green Hell,' after securing his DMSB Permit Nordschleife two weeks ago.

The Dutch driver finished his first qualifying session in third place, unable to claim pole due to traffic on his final lap.

However, in the race he quickly made up for it, taking the lead right at Turn 1 and competing his two-hour stint creating a healthy gap to the cars behind.

His teammate Chris Lulham then took over the wheel, guiding the Ferrari 296 GT3 to victory.

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