Max Verstappen to make GT3 race debut at Nordschleife in a Ferrari

Max Verstappen will make his GT3 race debut at the legendary Nordschleife on Saturday.

The four-time F1 world champion will share an Emil Frey Ferrari 296 with teammate Chris Lulham for the four-hour race on Saturday in the Nurburgring Endurance Series (NLS).

It comes after Verstappen raced a detuned Porsche Cayman GT4 in the NLS at the iconic German venue to secure a special racing permit that allows him to compete in GT3s prior to dominating last weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix. 

The Dutchman will be targeting overall race victory at the 12.9-mile circuit known as ‘The Green Hell’.

Verstappen previously tested the Ferrari around the Nordschleife in May under the alias Franz Hermann, but he will compete under his real name this weekend.

The car will be run in Verstappen.com Racing x Red Bull livery under the #31 entry.

Verstappen’s dream to enter Nurburgring 24 Hours

Verstappen has revealed it is his ultimate goal to race in the Nurburgring 24 Hours, something he is targeting in 2026.

"My passion is to also do these kind of races,” the Red Bull driver said in Baku last weekend.

“I knew that taking my licence needed to be done in a certain way and I have to say that they were all very helpful and supportive when I got there. But rules are rules and I get that.

"The down-tuned car was quite interesting to drive but honestly, very good collaboration. I got to do it in one race where sometimes you need to do it in two. They gave the option to do it in two different cars, so they were very thoughtful, helpful. Supportive as well because for them I think it was great to see.

"I enjoyed it, even though the car was super slow I still had a very useful day because I managed to drive in the wet, I managed to drive in the dry afterwards, do a start, getting to know all the flag rules because they are a little bit different to F1.

"At the end of the day it doesn't matter what kind of car you drive around the Nordschleife, it's always going to be fun when you push it.”

Verstappen added: “I like racing in general also outside of F1. I knew that if I wanted to get my permit I needed to do that race and we just went about, it was all organised very well, they were all very helpful as well from the organisation side.

"Every lap that you do around there is a different kind of experience so for me it was still very useful even though people say the car is down-tuned and it must be very boring. Of course the car is not the most exciting to drive but I look at it in a different way.

"You try to then focus on other things that might be useful in the future when you go there with a proper car. I had fun, it's a nice environment to be in, a bit different to F1."