While most of his colleagues travelled to New York for the premiere of F1: The Movie, Max Verstappen preferred a trip to Spa-Francorchamps. The Dutch driver was spotted there on Tuesday in an Aston Martin GT3 car, bearing the logo of Verstappen.com Racing. Previously, Verstappen conducted a similar test at the Nordschleife, under the alias Franz Hermann.
The GP Canada has barely concluded and Max Verstappen is already back in a race car. The driver travelled to the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium to run several test laps on Tuesday in the Aston Martin GT3 of his Verstappen.com Racing team.
Verstappen has often spoken about his love for endurance racing, and he cherishes the ambition to participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Nürburgring after his Formula 1 career. Verstappen’s previous test at the Nordschleife, under the alias Franz Hermann, was aimed at obtaining the special license a driver needs to participate in the 24-hour race on the German circuit.
Plans for Le Mans
Verstappen has previously discussed his potential future plans for another prestigious long-distance race: Le Mans. “When you do Le Mans, you usually want to drive in the hypercar,” the world champion tells Viaplay. “If you win, you want to win the highest class. On the Nordschleife, that’s with the GT3. So it’s different (than Le Mans), but they are also completely different circuits.”
“I’m working step by step to be able to participate,” adds the 27-year-old driver. Verstappen submitted a sports car classification application to the FIA at the end of May and received the highest Platinum status. He is also considering who his teammate would be for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. “I know I’m one of the heavier drivers, so I need at least two lighter drivers next to me. Nyck (de Vries) is of course quite light, and always fast, whether it’s Le Mans or somewhere else. So that’s nice to have as a teammate.”
