{"id":616275,"date":"2026-04-20T09:58:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T09:58:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/616275\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T09:58:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T09:58:09","slug":"nordschleife-tragedy-casts-spotlight-on-verstappen-hobby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/616275\/","title":{"rendered":"Nordschleife tragedy casts spotlight on Verstappen hobby"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>(GMM) A fatal crash at the Nurburgring has cast a harsh spotlight on the risks of endurance racing \u2013 just as Max Verstappen (pictured) continues to spend time at the track during the Formula 1 break.<\/p>\n<p>Finnish driver Juha Miettinen, 66, died after a multi-car incident during an NLS race at the Nordschleife, reportedly triggered by fluid on the track at the high-speed Klostertal section.<\/p>\n<p>Related Article:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.autoracing1.com\/pl\/476496\/66-year-old-driver-juha-miettinen-dies-following-seven-car-crash-in-adac-24h-nurburgring-qualifiers\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">66-Year-Old Driver Juha Miettinen Dies Following Seven-Car Crash in ADAC 24h N\u00fcrburgring Qualifiers<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Verstappen\u2019s teammate Lucas Auer was circulating in their Red Bull-livered Mercedes AMG at the time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere was a very big crash,\u201d driver Misha Charoudin told <a href=\"https:\/\/viaplay.com\/nl-nl\/sport\/motorsport\/formula-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Viaplay<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomeone left fluid behind and I think six or seven cars crashed into each other. \u201cYou approach that stretch at 220 kilometers-per-hour and if you can\u2019t brake\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The FIA reacted with a statement of condolence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur thoughts are with his family and friends and everyone involved in the event.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Verstappen, who was in the pits at the time of the incident, also responded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShocked by what happened today. Motorsport is something we all love, but in times like this it is a reminder of how dangerous it can be,\u201d he wrote on Instagram.<\/p>\n<p>The incident inevitably raises questions about Red Bull allowing its star driver to pursue such high-risk activities away from Formula 1.<\/p>\n<p>However, GPDA chairman Alexander Wurz says Verstappen is far from alone in wanting to explore endurance racing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMax isn\u2019t alone in his newfound passion for the Nurburgring and endurance racing \u2013 Alonso has already set an example,\u201d he told Speed Week.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLe Mans is interesting and desirable for everyone. I think it\u2019s great that he has the opportunity to race endurance races in GT.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI suspect Max isn\u2019t alone in this. Several of his colleagues probably want the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, George Russell admitted he understands the appeal \u2013 even as speculation continues about Verstappen\u2019s long-term F1 future.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can understand why driving on the Nordschleife puts a huge smile on his face,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve done hundreds of laps in the simulator and I\u2019d love to have the chance to race there someday, but my goal now is to be Formula 1 world champion.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I had four titles already, I\u2019d probably be doing the same thing. He\u2019s at a different stage of his career. I think you\u2019d understand if he left and you\u2019d understand if he stayed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-475169\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/verstappen-races-at-the-nordschleife1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1000\"\/>Max Verstappen driving a real race car at ADAC N\u00fcrburgring Langstrecken-Serie on the 21th of March 2026, photographed by Gruppe C GmbH \/ Red Bull Content Pool NLS2: 58. Barbarossapreis, N\u00fcrburgring-Nordschleife 2026 \u2013 Foto: Gruppe C Photography \/\/ Gruppe C GmbH \/ Red Bull Content Pool \/\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(GMM) A fatal crash at the Nurburgring has cast a harsh spotlight on the risks of endurance racing&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":616276,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[49,48,578,576,577,82],"class_list":["post-616275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=616275"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616275\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/616276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=616275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=616275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=616275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}