‘Max Verstappen beat me at the Nurburgring – this is why he was always going to win’ | F1 | Sport

Max Verstappen stormed to a dominant win in the ninth round of the Nurburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS) last week. According to one of his competitors on the Nordschleife circuit, though, the result was never in doubt. The reigning Formula One world champion blitzed the competition as he continues preparations ahead of a potential Nurburgring 24 Hours attempt in 2026. Verstappen teamed up with Chris Lulham, who usually races for the Dutchman’s GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup squad, Verstappen.com Racing.

Driving the Ferrari 296 GT3 machine for Emil Frey Racing, Verstappen took the lead at the first corner from third on the grid, before creating a gap of over a minute to the next car in his category. Lulham managed that advantage to perfection, and the duo took a comfortable victory on debut.

Verstappen’s latest triumph was lauded across the motorsport community, but according to some of his competitors, the result was never in doubt. “As everyone knows, he is the best track driver in the world,” said Haupt Racing Team driver Frank Stippler.

“That’s why I’m not surprised by his overall win. When you also combine that with a driver lineup of that calibre, winning is the only logical outcome.”

Stippler, who finished third in his Ford Mustang GT3, added: “He’s arguably the best driver in the world, so I find all this discussion about his lap times absolutely laughable. In Formula One, the others are missing something crucial, so why would that be different in GT3? That’s just crazy.”

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Verstappen’s Nurburgring exploits won’t stop with his debut win in the NLS. The 28-year-old is eyeing the track’s legendary endurance race for next year, but wants to make some more appearances in GT3 machinery in preparation.

“The first two stints went really well, the car worked perfectly in the dry,” said Verstappen, looking back at his NLS debut. “We had a bit of bad luck in qualifying, but in the race, everything with the traffic worked out fine. I think I didn’t make any major mistakes in those two stints. And to win here on my very first attempt, that’s just fantastic.”

Looking ahead to the future, he added: “Of course, I would really like to compete in the 24 Hours at some point. If it happens next year, I’ll say so – but we still need more experience. That’s the way it is, so hopefully we’ll do more races here next year.”