Four-time Formula 1 World Champion Max Verstappen made his first GT3 appearance in the Nürburgring Langstrecken Serie last weekend, taking overall victory alongside Chris Lulham, bringing thousands of new eyes to the German series’ livestream on Saturday.
The statistics are evident. The livestreams on the NLS YouTube channel paint a clear picture – there has been almost 550,000 views of the English and German livestreams for Round 9 of the championship, compared to just 95,000 for NLS 8 two weeks before.
But will the hype stay? That surely depends on whether Verstappen continues to race at the Nürburgring, and there’s no reason to suggest he won’t. The Dutchman has spoken about his desire to compete in sportscar racing for a long time, with major endurance races like the Nürburgring 24 Hours and 24 Hours of Le Mans high up on his wish-list.
While Le Mans clashes with the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona next year, the event in the Eifel region of Germany sits on a free weekend, although sandwiched in the two-week gap between Grands Prix in Miami and Montreal. Therefore, it’s realistic to say that we may see one of motorsport’s biggest names lining up on the grid at the 54th running of the event.
Entries into the Nürburgring 24 Hours require at least three drivers, with some cars even having four. Verstappen would most likely only be interested in competing in the top SP-9 class, where he can fight for overall victory, and it seems he would have no problem finding a seat. In fact, sportscar icon and winner of almost all of the biggest endurance races on the planet, Laurens Vanthoor, even tweeted to suggest Verstappen could join him and fellow Porsche Driver Kévin Estre in the famous Manthey Racing ‘Grello’ car, which is always a big favourite and strong competitor at the N24.
Whether that will happen is obviously up in the air, with Porsche and its rivals all having a strong pool of factory drivers to pick from, although you’d think there may be a queue for Verstappen’s signature if he does make himself available.
One thing for certain is that he wouldn’t find victory so easy to come by. Traditionally, the NLS is used for teams and drivers to prepare themselves for the N24, taking part in early rounds as warm-ups before the main event. Following the N24, the more competitive teams and drivers don’t take part, leaving a weaker field, like the one Verstappen encountered in September.
But that’s not to say he cannot have success. With good preparation, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone that would doubt him. At the end of the day, it comes down to what Verstappen himself wants from his career. As already an undisputed legend of Formula 1, and with the uncertainty surrounding Red Bull Racing after the departure of several key personnel and their difficulties keeping up with McLaren this year, who knows? In a few years, Verstappen could be tackling a full sportscar programme, bringing huge amounts of media attention and spectators with him.
Photo credit for top image: Max Verstappen.