Max Verstappen has revealed exactly how fast he was around the Nurburgring Nordschleife last weekend.

The four-time world champion took to the famed German circuit at the wheel of a Ferrari 296 GT3 in the surprise secret outing.

Max Verstappen sets blistering pace on legendary circuit

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

He joined the Emil Frey organisation, which fields two Ferrari 296 GT3s in the GT World Challenge Europe competition.

While no official timing was available, Verstappen revealed he recorded a time below lap record pace, set at 7:49.5s.

“It was, yeah,” he told media including PlanetF1.com when asked if his best was faster than the existing record.

“But for me, 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 as well, Emil Frey.

“For them also, the dream is to do 24 hours there. So 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.”

While quicker that the lap record, Verstappen’s time does not count as it was not set in a race.

His performance was all the more remarkable as it came with the car running to Balance of Performance requirements.

In GT3 racing, cars are paritised through an array of measures such as reducing power, adjusting weight, or modifying the aerodynamics with the intent of equalising the different makes and models of machinery over a race.

Those limitations requirements for competition but can be removed, which would result in a better performing car.

Verstappen’s appearance at the Nordschleife was initially shrouded in secrecy as he entered under a false name, Franz Hermann, in an attempt to fly under the radar.

“They asked me for a fake name, so I said let’s make it as German as possible,” he said.

“I knew that, once I was there, that people would realise, but at least I wasn’t on the entry list, so at least at 8am/9am it was pretty calm.”

He’s since joked that there has been contractual interested in Hermann.

“Franz is actually having a lot of contract offers at the moment, so he’s actually negotiating his terms for the Nordschleife,” he said in a video uploaded to social media.

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An avid sim racer, Verstappen has spent countless hours on the German circuit in the virtual world but last week’s outing marked his first real taste of the infamous Nordschleife.

“I’ve done thousands of laps around there,” he said of the Nordschleife.

“So for me, when I got there in real life, it was more knowing the grid level, the new tarmac in places, and then the grip level of the car.

“Of course, a few barriers here and there… The most important [thing] is that you know exactly where you’re going, and that I knew already.”

It’s far from the first time Verstappen has taken the wheel of GT3 machinery.

However, where typically his outings have been at a private track day, this came not only during a public session but on a circuit he’s previously been prevented from driving by Red Bull.

In 2023, Verstappen was prevented from joining Sebastian Vettel on track as part of an F1 demonstration.

There were no such limitations in place for GT machinery as he used the outing as a fact-finding mission ahead of a potential race appearance at the venue.

Verstappen has long harboured ambitions to take in races outside of Formula 1, highlighting events like the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Last year, the Red Bull driver sampled an Acura ARX-06 at Las Vegas Speedway.

Earlier this year he admitted he’d spoken about the prospect of racing at Le Mans alongside Fernando Alonso, who won the event with Toyota in 2018 and 2019.

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