Max is tough on the track, jocks on the catwalk: why was there only Verstappen at the 24h of the Ring?

Does Max Verstappen make all his colleagues pussies? Why on earth did only Max Verstappen go to race at the Nurburgring, first getting the special license to race on the legendary and dangerous Nordschleife track and then even living as a protagonist fighting for victory in the 24h race? There is certainly the boundless passion of the Dutch ace, as well as his desire to compete in all circumstances, be it in a Formula 1 GP or in a normal virtual race in the living room. But there is also, and perhaps above all, the contractual freedom that Red Bull has guaranteed to the four-time world champion, who has now reached such a status that it would be impossible – and even counterproductive – to deny him permission to carry out such an activity. This is also why making comparisons with the weekends of other drivers may seem ungenerous and even a little unfair. Click here to add Formula Passion as your favorite source on Google Discover: you will find our content more easily! Because it is true that Max Verstappen was racing with Maro Engel at 300 mph and that on the same weekend Charles Leclerc paraded dressed up on the red carpet of the Cannes film festival, while Lando Norris paid a visit to the Formula E paddock a few steps from his home in Monte Carlo. But also that the majority of drivers have explicit contractual prohibitions from competing in categories other than Formula 1, let alone with cars of different brands than the one they are associated with in the GPs. Thus, Leclerc has never made a secret of his desire to participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but at the same time Ferrari has always pretended not to hear his appeals, despite its official presence in the WEC, both in Hypercar (where it has won at Le Mans for three years in a row) and in GT3. The contractual freedom that Max had from Red Bull On the contrary, Verstappen at the Ring was able to compete in a few months with a Porsche 718 GT4, a Ferrari 296 GT3 and a Mercedes-AMG GT3. And this is perhaps precisely one of the reasons why, in the uncertainty of who would have the best car in 2026, the Dutchman ultimately chose to stay in Milton Keynes, despite the numerous market sirens. The topic is also discussed in the introduction to episode 208 of WarmUp, the daily podcast with the press review of the day’s news from Formula 1 and MotoGP. For this reason, a decidedly emblematic case could be that of Andrea Kimi Antonelli: the young Italian driver, leader of the F1 championship, does not seem to want to resist at all costs the charm of old-school races such as the 24h of the Nurburgring in which his friend Max participated over the weekend. Indeed, recently he has not even hidden the intention of wanting to get the license to compete at the Nordschleife, only to receive a kind but firm refusal from his team. The case of Andrea Kimi Antonelli This is told by Bradley Lord, former communications director of Mercedes in F1 and for a few months now officially Toto Wolff’s right-hand man as vice-team principal: in an interview with Nitro, the English manager responded in kind to Antonelli. “Will Antonelli be allowed to race at the Nurburgring this year? Well, no – explains Lord – and he and I spoke about it directly. I think more than anything that his was a joke. Maybe he could do it after having won four world championships in Formula 1. Max Verstappen probably has a little more margin thanks to his great experience”. Cool or not, poor Kimi will have to wait a little longer…

Automobile Magazine – F1 English News , 2026-05-20 01:00:00