Max Verstappen took part in a GT3 test at the Nurburgring using a pseudonym as he went around in a Ferrari 296.

While some F1 drivers like to spend their time off as far away from the track as possible, racing nut Verstappen often does extracurricular activities, whether that be virtual or in real life.

Max Verstappen tries his hand at GT3 racing in secret Nurburgring test

His latest experience came at the Nordschleife where he participated in test and setup sessions of the NLS (Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie). His appearance was kept quiet with his car having the name ‘Franz Hermann’ alongside the Dutch flag but AMuS spotted Verstappen’s name on his helmet and overalls, signalling it was him behind the wheel.

It is not the first time Verstappen has got behind the wheel of a GT3 car. His Verstappen.com team competes in the GT World Challenge and the Dutchman has completed a number of private tests in the car.

This time though he was very much in the public view with other drivers taking part ahead of the third round of the NLS. Verstappen was running with the Emil Frey Racing team who Thierry Vermeulen, son of Verstappen’s manager Raymond, drives for.

It is looking almost certain that Verstappen will have a racing career that extends beyond F1 in the future with the Dutchman frequently stating he would like to race competitively in other series.

Asked in 2022 about when he may hang up his F1 racing boots, Verstappen predicted he would not have the same longevity as Fernando Alonso but that he did want to try endurance racing at some point.

“Definitely not [Alonso’s age]! Not in Formula 1, who knows what else,” he said. “But I definitely want to do endurance at some point. Maybe still a few more years, two or three years before I want to do that.”

The following year, Verstappen again hinted at walking away.

“Once you’ve done so many years in F1, you don’t want to do this forever right? You can’t unfortunately,” Versateppen who is competing in his 11th season said.

“And that’s also a very different way of approaching it as you’re sharing the car with other drivers as well, so it’s quite a different kind of approach.

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“I mean you still go in there to win it, but you have to think about the three drivers, they all have a bit of a different driving style and there’s a lot more going on.

“It’s a bit of a different experience, it’s not like a one-and-a-half hour, two-hour sprint racing, it’s proper endurance, so the whole mentality and mindset is different.”

Verstappen is of racing stock with his mother Sophie Kumpen a talented karter while father Jos was also an F1 driver. In recent years, Jos has taken up rallying.

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