No exceptions for Max Verstappen in Nurburgring race labelled ’embarrassing’

The fact that no exceptions were made to allow Max Verstappen to race in an unrestricted Porsche during his weekend at the Nurburgring is “embarrassing”, according to Ralf Schumacher.

Verstappen made his racing debut at the Nurburgring Nordschleife on Saturday, taking the wheel of a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 for a round of the Nurburgring Endurance Series (NLS).

Max Verstappen takes the wheel of a Porsche at the Nurburgring

Enjoying a rare weekend off from his usual job of challenging for Grand Prix victories as a Red Bull F1 driver, Verstappen headed to the famous German circuit for an NLS series race.

The purpose of the outing is to give himself a chance at earning his special Nordschleife racing licence, called a DMSB (Deutcher Motor Sport Bund) Permit Nordschleife.

This licence would allow Verstappen to take part in a bigger race, such as the Nurburgring 24 Hours.

In order to reach this objective, a driver requires a Permit ‘A’, which can only be achieved by way of taking part in races such as the NLS7 Verstappen is taking part in on Saturday.

Having earned his Permit ‘B’ on Friday through practice, he set off in Saturday’s race with the aim of completing 14 racing laps as required to achieve the Permit ‘A’.

However, as a novice at the track, Verstappen couldn’t take the wheel of his Ferrari 296 GT3 car as he tested at the circuit back in May under the pseudonym Franz Harmann, but instead, he was required to drive a detuned Porsche Cayman in the CUP3(G) class for Saturday’s race.

This restricted him to 300bhp, but, unsurprisingly, Verstappen still put in a stellar qualifying performance to lap a full 25 seconds faster than the next car in class.

He, together with teammate Chris Lulham, finished first in the CUP3(G) class, and seventh overall amongst all the CUP3 entrants – this being 27th overall. He also completed the necessary 14 racing laps to tick off one of the requirements for a Permit ‘A’.

With no exceptions made to allow Verstappen, as a four-time F1 World Champion, to skip the usual process of a pre-race exam and the restricted race outing, Ralf Schumacher believes the optics of forcing a driver of his proven calibre to jump through the same hoops as an amateur is “embarrassing”.

‘Well, I would have given it to him straight away, of course,” Schumacher told Motorsport-Total.com.

“Or he could have been given a briefing about the Nordschleife and the specific things.

“That would have been the end of it. The best driver in the world will manage it if the others can do it, I’m pretty sure of that.

“Instead of many people being happy that Max is bringing this attention back to the Nordschleife and to what all the drivers achieve there, people are arguing about him getting his permit before he even drives.

“That’s embarrassing.”

More on Max Verstappen on PlanetF1.com

👉 ‘Holy s**t’ – ‘Insane’ Max Verstappen leaves Bortoleto shocked in untelevised team radio

👉 PlanetF1.com Postbox: McLaren team order fallout, Verstappen’s title influence

Forbidding Max Verstappen could have ‘made him sulky’

With the F1 season in full swing, Verstappen’s interest in extra-curricular racing does introduce a risk of his campaign with Red Bull being affected if he were to pick up any sort of injury.

Having taken part in a full test outing at the Nordschliefe back in May, where Verstappen claimed to have set an unofficial lap record, his participation in a full multi-class event this weekend surprised Schumacher.

Not only is there the risk involved, the German broadcaster and Grand Prix winner said, but the fact he’s willing to give up some of his limited free time at home with his family to go racing in another category underlines his love of motorsport.

‘I think [Red Bull] forbidding him to do so would either make him lose interest in where he is now or make him sulky,” Schumacher said.

“I find it interesting that, despite having children, he still takes the time and obviously enjoys motorsport so much.

“But of course, the Nordschleife is not without its dangers.”

While Schumacher believes Verstappen should have had an exception made for him to allow him to skip the initial hoops required to get his Nordschleife licence, he did acknowledge the dangers the ‘Green Hell’ represents.

“Just the run-off areas alone, the differences between the various classes, poor visibility at night,” Schumacher said.

“I have to say, hats off to the guys.”

Verstappen has outlined his interest in taking part in more racing outside of F1, and regularly takes part in online endurance races with his sim racing squad Team Redline.

The Dutch driver recently detailed his ambition in a promotional video for Ford, engine manufacturing partner with Red Bull Powertrains, saying he “wants to do all of them”.

“I like GT3,” he said.

“You want to do the Nordschleife, the Spa 24 Hours… But of course, the other ones you want to do them in the fastest category [Hypercar/GTP].

“[Ford] are involved in so many racing projects, and of course, they’re coming back to Le Mans with a Hypercar.”

Once Verstappen finally does manage to take in a race such as the Nurburgring 24 Hours behind the wheel of a full-blooded GT3 car, Schumacher believes the Dutch driver will automatically be a contender for outright victories.

“In terms of his performance, definitely,” he said.

‘But in the 24-hour race, it depends on a lot of things. It also has to be the right team.’

“The car has to hold up. Nothing can happen. The weather has to be halfway decent. You have to have the right tyre manufacturer for all weather eventualities.

‘But in terms of pure performance, he’s immediately in contention for the win, no question about it. And of course, he has that well under control thanks to his experience. He feels the limits of the car and knows exactly what it means to take care of it. So from that point of view, definitely.’

Read Next: Cadillac ‘won’t be last’ verdict offered in F1 arrival impact declaration