The 2023 F1 season ended barely a month ago, but Max Verstappen is already itching to get back into racing action. Verstappen, who is known to spend time in the racing world even away from F1, has already suited up for something new. This time, he is preparing to test his GT3 car for VerstappenCOM racing.
Verstappen is on top of the world in F1 at the moment. He won his first world title in 2021 and has won two more since then. However, he is not sure about how long he wants to remain in F1. Thus, earlier this year, he decided to start his own team, named VerstappenCOM, and aims to compete in the GT World Challenge from 2025 onwards.
Max Verstappen in a private test in Portimão with his GT3 for @VerstappenCOM Racing pic.twitter.com/lxJwMsfPuF
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) December 19, 2023
To prepare for the same, Verstappen plans on trying the car out himself. As a result, he traveled to Portimão, Portugal, to take part in a private test. The pictures from the same test were circulated all over social media by accounts like RBR Daily on X.
Verstappen is a driver who surrounds himself in the world of racing even away from F1. However, his love for other ventures comes from his passion for sim-racing.
Max Verstappen found his love for GT from sim-racing
Max Verstappen wanted to start his own racing team to help people close to him get into the world of motorsports. They want to sponsor the people they know and help them kickstart their careers. Notably, there are several people close to the Red Bull driver who are a part of the racing world.
They include his father, Jos (in rallying), and Thierry Vermeulen, his manager’s son (in DTM). However, Max Verstappen’s interest in building a car that can compete in GT and other ventures developed from his participation and success in sim-racing.
“It all started with Team Redline in sim racing,” he said to Formule 1 as quoted by Motorsport. “We are working on it at the moment. Next year will be tight, but I would like to have it as soon as possible. Having a GT3 team in 2025 with a minimum of two cars should be possible.”
Verstappen aims to recruit bright talents from the world of sim racing and develop them into great drivers in real life. That is one of the main reasons why the Dutch lion began VerstappenCOM racing.
