Max Verstappen getting ‘more and more serious’ as GT3 team’s 2026 hopes revealed

Max Verstappen has said his GT3 team, Verstappen.com Racing, is “becoming more and more serious” as it progresses, and explained plans to move up a class in 2026.

Having won the Gold Cup standings in the 2025 edition of the GT World Challenge Europe, his team aims to step up to the top Pro class in the series in 2026.

Max Verstappen: GT3 team ‘becoming more and more serious’ as step up planned

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Verstappen took in a couple of GT3 races himself in between Grand Prix weekends in 2025, earning his ‘Ring Licence’ by competing in multipe rounds of GT3 events at the Nurburgring.

The four-time World Champion has several drivers competing full-time in GT, however, and a significant change came with the announcement on Christmas Eve that the team would switch from Ferrari to Mercedes machinery in 2026, doing so on a multi-year deal.

One of the team’s drivers, Chris Lulham, will be partnered by Aston Martin F1 simulator driver Daniel Juncadella in 2026, taking part in the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup, with the pair also being joined by Jules Gounon for the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, which will incorporate races such as one of GT racing’s flagship events, the 24 Hours of Spa.

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Verstappen has made it clear that, when time allows, he would like to take part in 24-hour events at Spa, the Nurburgring, as well as Le Mans also being on his racing bucket list.

In the immediate term, he is pleased to see his team’s progress and is looking for more from 2026.

“It’s becoming more and more serious,” Verstappen told Red Bull’s in-house Talking Bull podcast.

“We entered this year, not as a Pro car, but in the Gold Cup. So, of course, one of the drivers that jumped in came from the sim racing world [Lulham], so for me to immediately put him in the Pro car championship, was probably a bit much, I would say.

“But, I always said, we do compare ourselves with them in terms of lap time. That’s the target. Now we won, of course, the Gold Cup championship. So that’s, of course, the one just below the pro cars, which I think was our target starting the year.

“I think also throughout the year, the drivers made some nice steps forward, really understanding also how to overcome difficulties with the car balance, understanding how to go faster and optimising qualifying and race stints and stuff.

“Then next year, we want to be in the Pro championship, basically. We’re changing cars, but it’s getting bigger and better.”

Verstappen’s next priority will be to help launch the Red Bull RB22, which is taking place at a season launch event held by Ford in Detroit on 15 January, with Racing Bulls also set to unveil its new colours.

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