Reigning World Championship Max Verstappen is en route to start his own racing team in association with Verstappen.com Racing, which will compete in the GT3 category, as per Formule1.nl. The Red Bull driver has already amassed a wealth of over $200,000,000 and is now ready to invest part of it into his own racing team.
Much like any other category of motorsports, owning a GT3 team does not come cheap. According to a report by Dailysportscar.com, it would take something around a figure of $1,400,000 to set up a racing team and participate in a 24-hour endurance race.
Of this $1.4 million, only about $550,000 would go into buying a race spec GT3 car. The rest of the funds would go to other departments like spare parts, tire sets, Car consumables like oil and nitrogen. Then there are costs to set up the garage which include having to pay for a telemetry logger, tire tents, fuel bowser etc. Lastly, there is also the logistics part of things which include a race truck, hotels, food and everything else.
Therefore, setting up a GT3 team is no piece of cake, but Verstappen seems quite dedicated to his cause. According to the reports, the Dutchman wants to have his team up and running by 2025. And with how things seem right now, he could be a four-time if not a three-time world champion by then.
Max Verstappen wants to create an affordable entry point to Motorsports
Max Verstappen recently spoke to Formule1.nl about his Verstappen.com racing team project. He explained that it is essentially a way for him to sponsor and support various racing projects of people who are close to Verstappen. This includes the likes of the Redline sim racing team as well as the DTM project of Thierry Vermeulen.
However, Verstappen’s main aim is to own a GT3 Racing team. He said, “The ultimate goal is to set up our own racing team. We will start in the GT3 class and then we will see where the ship sails.”
He also explained that one should not view this as a side project for Verstappen. He said, “When I do something, I want to do it well. I want to win, even with this.” With the GT3 team his main aim is to create a stepping stone into the world of motorsports from sim racing so that karting does not remain the only entry point in the sport.
Verstappen claimed that he wants to get his team started as soon as he can, hopefully by 2025. This could very well be part of his retirement plans, as the Red Bull driver has keeps on speaking about his plans beyond F1.
Verstappen’s future plans
The timeline of the proposed GT3 team coincides perfectly with when Mark Hughes, who is set to release a biography on Verstappen, has claimed the Red Bull star will leave F1. According to Hughes, Verstappen will not even stick around to the end of his contract in 2028 and wants to leave F1 much before that.
In The Race F1 podcast, Hughes said, “I had to speculate and guess, I think he will run till the end of this formula, to the end of 2025.” With the GT3 plan set to come to life by 2025, it could be a good enough alternative path for Verstappen to delve into.
