Antonelli inspired by Verstappen: “I would like to do Nürburgring, Le Mans and Daytona”

Max Verstappen’s appearance at the Nürburgring 24 Hours impressed all fans, including his colleagues. This is the case of Antonelli, who in only his second year in Formula 1 already dreams of taking part in several endurance races. For the moment it is just a wish, with the Italian preferring to dedicate himself entirely to the open-wheel Circus for now, but in the future it cannot be ruled out that the Italian driver could also try his hand at endurance racing. Max Effect On the eve of the Canadian Grand Prix, Antonelli commented on Verstappen’s performance at the Nordschleife, declaring himself open to following the example of the Dutch champion: “There are races outside of Formula 1 that I would absolutely like to do. First of all there is the 24 hours of Nürburgring, but Le Mans is also very beautiful. Then there is the Petit Le Mans, while the 24 hours of Daytona would also be a race worth trying. There are races that I’d like to do something outside of Formula 1, but I’m at a stage where it’s better for me to focus only on F1 in the future, but I’ll definitely do other things too, like Max is doing.” Family commitments prevented Kimi from watching the Ring marathon live, but the Italian still followed the event remotely: “I watched the race. Not all of it, but a bit in bits and pieces. I followed the first three or four hours, then a bit during the night and then in the morning. It was a great race.” Needless to say, all the attention was on Verstappen: “I also had his onboard and was ‘studying’ him. It was really nice.” Unfortunately, however, the outcome was not as hoped: “I was very sorry for Max, because he was on his way to victory. Unfortunately he had a problem, but the race he did was incredible.” Photo: Philip Platzer/Red Bull Content Pool Sport won Verstappen’s enthusiasm at the Nürburgring infected everyone, as demonstrated by the record turnout at the circuit. According to Antonelli it was a unique event, which ignited the passion and curiosity for endurance racing: “I think it was a really special weekend for sport in general, especially for covered wheels. Seeing a Formula 1 driver also become passionate about other categories is a very beautiful thing and I think it was a crazy weekend.” Click here to add Formula Passion as your favorite source on Google Discover: you will find our content more easily!

Automobile Magazine – F1 English News , 2026-05-28 03:00:00