Everything is ready for the arrival on the track Max Verstappen at the Nürburgring Nordschleifewith the Dutchman from Red Bull who will contest the 4 hours of the NLS2 this weekend at the wheel of the Mercedes-AMG GT3, the same car with which he will also compete in the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring in mid-May. It will not be an absolute debut for the four-time F1 world champion inGreen Hell: last year, again in the 4 Hours, Verstappen won on his debut on the legendary German track, in that case with the Ferrari 296 GT3.
Like many other drivers, Verstappen has always been fascinated by the Nordschleife, to the point of having had another project which, however, was strongly denied by the former Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko. Interviewed by F1-Insiderthe Austrian recounted the time he said ‘no’ to his driver, eager to take a lap behind the wheel of a Formula 1.
“Years ago, Max spoke to me enthusiastically about the Nordschleife. He wanted to take a demo ride with a Red Bull Formula 1 car, but at that moment an alarm bell immediately went off – he said – we were not talking about a simple demonstration! Max had seen that crazy video where Timo Bernhard broke the lap record in a Le Mans Porsche. I think he wanted to beat him again with Red Bull. It was too dangerous for me, that’s why I blocked and banned it. Fortunately, he can now have fun on the Nordschleife with the Mercedes GT3. However, I fear he still has Timo Bernhard’s record in mind. After all, he is an old school driver.”
