Max Verstappen expands on his GT3 test at Nordschleife before Miami under a different name, as fellow F1 drivers react to the Dutchman pleasure run.
The gap between the races in Miami and Emilia Romagna allowed Red Bull’s Verstappen to take a detour to check on his GT3 outfit Emil Frey Racing. The Dutchman used a fake name ‘Franz Hermann’ on the practice day on Friday, to test his team’s car.
Verstappen drove the Ferrari 296 GT3 machine at the ‘Green Hell’ and as per his own words, he unofficially broke the lap record of 7m49.578s. Since the Friday practice do not carry an official timing board, therefore, it was not registered – although it did raise suspicion among regular GT3 drivers, which resulted in some social media chatter.
Verstappen, meanwhile, expanded on his test drive as he reiterated his wish to compete in other races – especially on the endurance side – beyond F1 when he is done racing in the pinnacle of motor racing. The Dutchman even revealed how the name came about and shed light on the discussions regarding a future programme.
Some of his F1 rivals had their say about his driving and potential lap record. Away from it, veteran GT driver Maro Engel raised a query on social media regarding the use of NLS BoP or one set by DTM. It was put down by the F1 champion – a rare move from him.
“To the topic of the moment. Few facts to Franz Hermann GT3 Nordschleife Test: car was run in DTM spec BoP (less weight, more power, lower ride height than NLS BoP). Laptime: 7:48. Still impressive for a first visit to the green hell. Would be cool to see Franz compete,” wrote Engel.
Verstappen response: “False. Don‘t spread things when you don’t know how the car was setup and our engine settings. Why would I join a NLS track day with the wrong BOP. Have a good one tomorrow.” Engel in reply: “Seems like paddock chat was incorrect then. Your clearly in a better position to tell us what you ran. Thnx and same to you.”
Name situation –
Verstappen: “They asked me for a fake name, so I said let’s make it as German as we can. They gave the option [to choose the name]. A fake name because then you’re not on the entry list. Otherwise people woke up at 8am knowing that my name is on it. I knew that once I was there that people would realise. It’s normal. But at least I wasn’t on the entry list. So at least at 8, 9am it was pretty calm.”
Lap record –
Verstappen: “It was [faster than the NLS GT3 lap record], but I’m not there to show that I can break a lap record or whatever record. I was just having fun and learning the track together with the team. With Emil Frey as well, they weren’t there before, so for them also the dream is to do 24 hours there. We just had a good time getting up to speed; we were lucky with the conditions as well. It was really nice and sunny.
“So that’s great if you can have that. It was a full day with every car, tow trucks, everything. [The traffic] was fine. It’s not like that’s the first time for me as well. You know, on the sim you have the same with slow categories. You have to take your time, know where you can pass or not. You don’t want to be too off line as well. But it was fun, and I had a good time.”
Prep –
Verstappen: “[Simulator helped me] a lot. I’ve done thousands of laps around there. So for me, when I got there in real life, it was more knowing the grip level of the new tarmac in places, and then the grip level of the car. Of course, a few barriers here and there are modified a bit. The most important is that you know exactly where you’re going. And that I knew already.”
F1 comparison –
Verstappen: “[I still get more adrenaline from] F1. At the same time, I also had a lot of fun out there. But it’s testing. So, you’re always a bit more relaxed anyway. I would not want to drive there with these [current F1] cars. It’s too bumpy and too many compressions. Honestly, for me when I drove there I think the GT3 speed is perfectly fine. Anything above that becomes already a little bit more risky.”
Future talks –
Verstappen: “I would like to do that in the future. That’s why I’m doing all these things to prepare a bit, get a bit of experience. So, you don’t need to do that in the future. It’s my passion. I’m running this year also with the GT3 team, I want to gather also more information for myself. And at the end of the day, it’s my private time. We are discussing it with them how to do it, because my schedule is very full, and we are speaking with them of course because I know what is needed, but I cannot say when it would be.
“Lets see [about racing]. We are talking to them, lets see how it pans out. It is definitely more dangerous for me to sit in a slower car being dependent on the faster cars, lets see we are talking with them. It depends. Honestly, I cannot say much when. I am not sure I can do it [in September 2025]. Not sure, I am still checking.”
Other F1 drivers –
Nico Hulkenberg: “I did maybe three or five laps. I think yes [we can do a race outside F1], I did Le Mans once during Formula 1 season, I don’t see the problem. It is a race track and he’s a professional race driver, he loves GT car. Obviously, it is passion driving these GT cars, so I don’t see a problem. The Nordschleife is the toughest circuit in the world, because it is so long and has so many different corners.
“Also, the weather is different on each part. It’s super tricky and challenging. It’s definitely something I would want to race on after my career, probably have some fun if I were looking for adrenaline and drive some cars there. What I have done there is with my private car.”
Alexander Albon: “I’ve heard it [name Franz Hermann] mentioned before. Yes, that’s it, that’s why I knew I’d heard that name before. It’s good for him. He’s the driver who drives the most, and I think that’s impressive. I don’t know what the lap times were, and nobody does, but the fact that he is constantly driving. Whether it’s in the simulator or in a non-Formula 1 car. You have to realize that driving is something good.
“You can compare it to reading the newspaper; doing so improves your knowledge. Driving a car, no matter if it’s a F1 car, teaches you how to drive faster. It definitely helps in Formula 1. Not everyone has the opportunity. I say this because I’ve raced in DTM, and that car compares well with his. It was different from Formula 1, but I learned how to race with different types of cars.”
Lando Norris: “No, I don’t have social media, so. I mean, I could do [a test], but I don’t want to. Very happy for Max.”
Fernando Alonso: “I did, in a way, my life out of F1 when I was tired of being here and being just a secondary actor. I was not really a protagonist in 2016, 2017, and 2018. I wanted to try something different outside Formula 1 and I had great experiences in other categories. You get the fun of driving without the rest of everything that Formula 1 has, and I’m sure he had a great time there. For me, it’s not the priority at the moment, but I cannot say what I will do in the future.
“The endurance racing, 24-hour races, are always fun. You share the car with other drivers, there is a lot of team spirit on it and team building in the way you go to racing, and yes, it’s great fun. I hope he enjoyed and does something maybe after Formula 1 because he’s also a racer and he prefers to be driving than doing anything else, as we can see in the simulator sessions that he does and things. I’m sure he will do some other series and we will watch.”
Isack Hadjar: “No I haven’t [watched Verstappen’s lap]. Did he [break the lap record unofficially]? For sure he was fast, it doesn’t matter.”
Yuki Tsunoda: “I’ve driven it already. I drove it with the NSX GT3. But I don’t think it was Max driving, It was Franz. My lap time? I mean, a bit of excuse. But I have a safety car in front to be safe. It was like part of the Red Bull Sunday Show run, so I had a safety car in front, so I couldn’t really push at all. But it’s not a track that you can drive fast immediately. So he did really well, Mr. Franz. [My name would be] something good, Japanese name. Yeah, I would be the Last Samurai. I hope it won’t be the last ride in my life.”
Here’s Yuki Tsunoda on Imola GP
Here’s Yuki Tsunoda on online abuse
Here’s Max Verstapen, Christian Horner on Imola GP win
