Destroying the competition on his GT3 debut at the N\u00fcrburgring, the \u201cmath\u201d says Max Verstappen could win the N\u00fcrburgring 24 Hours by a whopping \u201cone and a half laps\u201d if he competes in the iconic race next year.<\/p>\n
Verstappen contested his inaugural GT3 race at the \u2018green hell\u2019 on the weekend, behind the wheel of the #31 Ferrari 296 GT3 with British racer Chris Lulham as his teammate for round nine of the N\u00fcrburgring Langstrecken-Serie season.<\/p>\n
\u2018Do the math, and you\u2019re one and a half laps ahead\u2019<\/p>\n
The duo took the victory by 20 seconds<\/a>, but the #31\u2019s advantage was up to 62 seconds when Verstappen, who drove for the first two hours, handed the car over to Lulham for the final two hours.<\/p>\n The reigning F1 World Champion is now dreaming of competing in next year\u2019s 24 Hour event.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, I would love to compete in the 24-hour race, whether that happens next year or later, but we still need more experience for that, of course,\u201d said Verstappen<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a given, so hopefully, we can compete in more races next year.\u201d<\/p>\n Dutch racing driver and pundit Jeroen Bleekemolen has warned Verstappen\u2019s GT3 rivals that they could be in for a brutal defeat.<\/p>\n \u201cIf he is going to drive the 24 hours, that will be nice,\u201d he told RacingNews365<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIf he has a good line-up, do the math\u2026 He was one minute ahead after two hours of racing. Do the math, and you\u2019re one and a half laps ahead of a 24-hour race.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s how good he was! I enjoyed it, it was a top race.\u201d<\/p>\n More on Max Verstappen and his talent<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49\u00a0Max Verstappen v. The World: How the Red Bull driver stacks up against his teammates<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49\u00a0Revealed: The three rules introduced by the FIA because of Max Verstappen<\/a><\/p>\n The 43-year-old was impressed with Verstappen\u2019s performance with the Dutchman\u2019s fastest lap a 7:51.514, two seconds off the NLS lap record of 7:49.578.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really unbelievable what he has done! He just missed the lap record, but if he hadn\u2019t had yellow flags in that second lap, I\u2019m actually sure he would,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut otherwise\u2026 Through traffic, not with the best conditions, he continuously drove well under eight minutes.<\/p>\n \u201cHe drove three to four or even five seconds away from real Nordschleife toppers every lap, such as Frank Stippler, and also the Aston Martin with one of the real heroes who also holds the track record (Christian Krognes).<\/p>\n \u201cThe field is not that wide. If you drive the 24 Hours, there are 35 GT3s competing here, including all the factory drivers. But that Stippler and Krognes participated\u2026 These are guys who normally race at the front. Then it doesn\u2019t matter that much.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was just bizarre. Verstappen was faster than the rest, better than the rest.\u201d<\/p>\n Bleekemolen wasn\u2019t the only one impressed with five-time N\u00fcrburgring 24 Hours winner Timo Bernhard declaring Verstappen was so good that he was \u201cemotional\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cHats off to Max Verstappen to tackle the Nordschleife, and I like this,\u201d the German driver said during the weekend\u2019s broadcast of the 6 Hours of Fiji. \u201cActually, the platform which gets the most attention, is Formula 1, for sure.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen they try other disciplines, you mentioned Nico Hulkenberg, Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, we shared the car for three years. We had great fun.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are great race car drivers, and they like to experience other things. And endurance racing, it has so much to offer. So you see, I\u2019m emotional, it\u2019s great racing, I love it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s great. I don\u2019t know him personally, but hearing things about him, for sure, he\u2019s a racer. And I liked it, the way he tackled [the race]. He has a huge talent, as we know.<\/p>\n \u201cNordschleife is something special, and he really honours the place also, that\u2019s something I cherish, I like.\u201d<\/p>\n Next year\u2019s N\u00fcrburgring 24 Hours takes place in May, between the Miami and Canadian F1 Grands Prix.<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n