Max Verstappen rules out 2027 Le Mans despite no F1 clash as GT3 race plans revealed
Max Verstappen seemingly won't be making his Le Mans 24 Hour debut next year.
Max Verstappen has ruled himself out of competing at the Le Mans 24 Hours next year despite there being no direct clash with Formula 1.
Four-time world champion Verstappen has spoken of his desire to race at the legendary 24-hour race in the future, though it doesn’t look like it will happen next year, based on his latest comments.
The door for the likes of Verstappen and Lando Norris, who has also expressed an interest in contesting the Le Mans 24 Hours, to tackle the race looked to be open after the 2027 F1 calendar was announced.
The 95th edition of the French endurance classic at the Circuit de la Sarthe is scheduled for the weekend of 12-13 June, which falls inbetween the Monaco and Portuguese grands prix.
In theory, grand prix drivers would have been able to compete at Le Mans next year, however, rules surrounding mandatory rooking running at the test day does cause complications.
The Le Mans test day for 2027 falls on the same weekend as the Monaco Grand Prix. While not impossible, it would have given F1 drivers a logistical headache to take part in both events.
Verstappen has seemingly ruled himself out of participation at Le Mans next year, though he does plan to take part in other 24-hour races at the Nurburgring and Spa-Francorchamps.
“Nurburgring and Spa, probably,” Verstappen told reporters in Baku ahead of this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix when asked about his plans to race outside of F1 in 2027.
“Le Mans, that's not on my list for now. I said already, after the race at the Nordschleife, that I wanted to go back.
“If it allows me to prepare well, I know there is no clash, but it still needs to work out in my schedule, then I'll do it. And Spa is an exciting option.”
Verstappen was denied victory on his debut at the Nurburgring 24 Hours after a late reliability issue for his car cost him a shot of winning the iconic race in Germany.
The Dutchman and his team-mates Jules Gounon, Dani Juncadella and Lucas Auer were leading the race until a driveshaft problem stuck their Mercedes-AMG GT3 with just over three hours remaining.
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