Max Verstappen in action on the weekend at the Nurburgring. Image: Nurburgring on X
The Dutchman arrived on Friday to complete the mandatory theory exam before joining Saturday’s four-hour race with Lionspeed GP.
His task was to drive at least 14 laps and be classified in two different cars to meet the strict DMSB Grade A licence requirements.
Verstappen teamed up with Verstappen.com Racing driver Chris Lulham in a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS prepared by Lionspeed and restricted to 300bhp.
He was scheduled to split his laps between the #980 and #89 entries, but the plan unravelled when the #89 was damaged in qualifying and unable to start.
Starting in the #980 — which carried a tongue-in-cheek “Permit B” sticker — Verstappen focused only on mileage.
Just watching Max Verstappen in a competitive endurance session at the Nurburgring in the middle of an F1 season 😅
You can follow along live and free on https://t.co/5vsIuqi4lu 🎥 pic.twitter.com/JaPQrjiNlj
— Autosport (@autosport) September 13, 2025
Despite the car’s heavy power cut, he completed the required 14 laps in mixed conditions before handing over to Lulham, who also earned his permit.
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With only one car classified, officials deliberated for hours before ruling the situation a force majeure and awarding Verstappen the licence.
“I’m happy that everything went smoothly and that I obtained the DMSB Permit Nordschleife,” Verstappen said.
“I had fun, but that’s always the case here.
“It was also good to drive those stints in race conditions with traffic, so both faster and slower cars. There was a ‘code 60’ neutralisation, double yellows and yellow flags.
“I drove in the rain, on a dry track, and in between. I learned where there is more and less grip and did a start as well.”
The #980 Porsche finished as the top Permit B Cup3 entry in 27th overall, but the result was secondary.
The permit now allows Verstappen to race GT3 machinery in upcoming NLS rounds and clears the path to a debut in the Nurburgring 24 Hours — a challenge he has already described as “amazing.”
“There is only one circuit like the Nordschleife,” Verstappen said.
“It’s a challenging track… To race here for 24 hours in a GT3 car would be amazing.”
With the paperwork now complete, Verstappen could make his GT3 debut as soon as the next NLS round later this month before eventually targeting the 24-hour race, which in 2026 takes place between the Miami and Canadian Grands Prix on May 14–17.