‘Max Verstappen has reinvented the GT game’
The Verstappen Racing #3 Mercedes in action at the 2026 24 Hours of Nürburgring
Max Verstappen has “reinvented” the GT racing “game” with his overtake on the Aston Martin at the Nürburgring, showing even the experienced drivers how it could be done in a risk-versus-reward battle.
Verstappen made his debut at the Nürburgring 24 Hours last week and showed the world why he’s arguably one of the best racing drivers of this generation – no matter the car.
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The four-time F1 world champion lined up alongside Daniel Juncadella, Jules Gounon and Lucas Auer with Juncadella taking the start.
As Verstappen tagged in for his hotly-anticipated debut in a double stint, he overtook the #47 Mercedes-AMG with two wheels on the grass, sliced up the inside of the #911 Porsche into the first corner, and then followed that up with a double overtake on the #67 Ford Mustang and the #34 Aston Martin.
His pass on both cars down the Dottinger Straight was impressive.
While the race leaders slowed down for the traffic ahead, Verstappen stayed on the gas and was up in P1; neither knew what was happening.
David Pittard, who races in the Nürburgring Endurance Series and IMSA SportsCar Championship, reckons the 28-year-old has changed GT racing forever.
“I think he’s almost reinvented the game a little bit,” he said during coverage of the race. “I think he brings fresh ideas to the Nordschleife.
“What he did in his first stint going into Tiergarten with the Aston Martin. The Aston Martin rolls out the throttle earlier than normal because he knows he’s going to catch the slower class car through the final.
“Max’s instinct was: ‘Right, if you’re lifting off, I’m going for it.’
“I think every other driver would be like: ‘OK, we’re going to back off with that car because of the risk involved with that.’
“It just seems so fluid he made that decision to then get to the inside.
“I believe he’s reinvented the game.”
Asked if it would change how other GT3 drivers race, Pittard replied: “Yeah.
“Max comes from a sprint racing background. His whole career has been sprint single-seater racing and sometimes that pays off, sometimes that doesn’t – as we see in Max’s F1 career as well.
“I think some of us more seasoned GT veterans, maybe we take a little less risk in that situation, but he’s kind of proved it’s possible, so let’s see.
“This is the biggest place with risk versus reward.”
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Unfortunately for Verstappen and his teammates in the #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 car, their efforts did not pay off.
The team suffered a driveshaft failure while leading the race and had to return to the garage for repairs.
The Winward Racing-operated car was repaired in time for the team to take the chequered flag but they were 38th at the chequered flag.
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