The Red Bull Racing driver made a cameo at the Nordschleife in an Emil Frey Racing-run 296 GT3 as part of an Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie test, marking his first laps at the famous Green Hell.
Speaking ahead of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, Verstappen said he wanted to be able to fly under the radar.
Word quickly spread of Verstappen’s test, and just days after the fact he took to social media to share his experience.
“They asked me for a fake name, so I said ‘let’s make it as German as we can’,” said Verstappen on Thursday at Imola.
Asked why he felt compelled to run under a fake name, Verstappen said: “Because then you’re not on the entry list. Otherwise, people rock up at 8am knowing that my name is on the entry list.
“I knew that once I was there that people would realise, it’s normal, but at least I wasn’t on the entry list name. So at least at 8, 9am, it was pretty calm.”
Outside of Formula 1, the Dutchman has expressed a long-term desire to race in the Nurburgring 24.
The test is the first step towards making that a reality.
“I would like to do that in the future. That’s why I’m doing all these things, to prepare a bit, get a bit of experience, so you don’t need to do that in the future,” he explained.
Which is which? 🤷♂️😅#F1 || #ImolaGP 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/v78JTxJJSD
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) May 15, 2025
Some reports claim Verstappen went some three seconds faster than the GT3 lap record, setting a 7:49.5s.
“For me, I’m not there to show that I can break a lap record or whatever record,” said Verstappen.
“I was just having fun and learning the track together with the team, with Emil Frey as well. They weren’t there before, so for them also, the dream is to do 24 hours there.
“We just had a good time, getting up to speed. We were lucky with the conditions as well; it was really nice and sunny, so that’s great if you can have that.”
Verstappen would need to have a Deutscher Motor Sport Bund (DMSB) licence to race at the Nurburgring,
The four-time F1 champion has his own GT World Challenge Europe team.
Verstappen.com will enter the 24 Hours of Spa this year with an Aston Martin Vantage run by 2 Seas Motorsport. That entry will be driven by Harry King, Chris Lulham, and Thierry Vermeulen.
Having fun at the Nordschleife 🙌 https://t.co/46lRXQtA7q Racing 👀 pic.twitter.com/vPC2BKmDo1
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) May 9, 2025
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