Max Verstappen tests Aston Martin GT3 at Spa ahead of 24-hour classic

Max Verstappen completed a private test at Spa-Francorchamps earlier this week in an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 ahead of this weekend’s Spa 24 Hours.

The four-time Formula 1 world champion drove the car fielded by his own Verstappen.com Racing outfit in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, whose blue riband event takes place this weekend at the Belgian Grand Prix venue.

Verstappen hit the track prior to travelling to Spielberg for the Austrian Grand Prix, where he is aiming for a fifth career victory.

The Dutchman has previously sampled GT3 machinery on multiple occasions, including Emil Frey's Ferrari 296 GT3 at the Nurburgring Nordschleife, where he unofficially broke the lap record while driving under the pseudonym “Franz Hermann”.

Asked whether his Spa outing was aimed at helping the team prepare for the 24-hour enduro, the Red Bull driver said: “Well, it was also more for myself. I had not really driven the Aston that much up until that point — it was very early in the season — so I just wanted to get a bit more experience.

“The guys, of course, are racing it, preparing for [Spa]. But it’s more for me to get more of an understanding of what we can do with the car setup-wise and development.

“That was the only day available before arriving here. It was a great day, nice and warm, and we did a lot of stuff, which I enjoyed — just to help my understanding of that particular car.”

Verstappen has made no secret of his interest in GT and endurance racing, revealing his ambition to contest the Nurburgring 24 Hours in the future.

“I would like to do that in the future,” he said last month. “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.”

Verstappen.com Racing has entered a single Aston Martin in the Spa 24 for Thierry Vermeulen, Chris Lulham, and Harry King.