Verstappen targets Spa 24 Hours as he asks organisers to avoid F1 clash

Alongside the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen is also keeping an eye on another event in the background this weekend: the Spa 24 Hours.

The four-time world champion cannot compete himself this time, although he has previously revealed that he would have been on the grid had the Ardennes endurance race not clashed with an F1 weekend.

However, Verstappen Racing does have its own car competing this weekend. The Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO in Red Bull colours is being driven by Daniel Juncadella, Chris Lulham and Jules Gounon. The entry secured seventh place in Thursday’s combined qualifying results.

Verstappen is following the action as closely as he can, including watching the sessions on his phone shortly before his written media session in Spielberg began.

“Yes, I'll try to watch it as much as I can. The car is racing with our drivers, so I'm very much involved this weekend,” Verstappen said.

This time he is involved as a team owner, but if it were up to him, he would be behind the wheel himself next year.

Verstappen entered the Nurburgring 24 Hours last month

Photo by: ADAC Motorsport

“Of course, I wish that I could race in Spa as well. I told them already for next year. It would be ideal if they could schedule it outside of a Formula 1 weekend, so let’s see,” he said.

The Spa 24 Hours is an endurance classic that ranks highly on Verstappen’s wishlist. That is naturally because it is one of his favourite circuits – in fact his favourite track on the F1 calendar – but also because it is a race featuring only GT3 machinery: “Spa is an amazing track and a 24-hour race with only GT cars is something very special.”

For precisely those reasons, he has asked the organisers of the GT World Challenge Europe whether it would be possible not to let the 2027 edition clash with an F1 weekend.

When it was suggested that, in theory, the Dutchman could always skip a grand prix if he is not directly involved in the title fight, Verstappen laughed: “I'm sure that Red Bull will not be very happy with that!”

In addition to the Spa 24 Hours, Verstappen would also like to return to the Nordschleife next year for the Nurburgring 24 Hours.

In the longer term, naturally alongside a future Le Mans outing, he also has ambitions to compete in the Daytona 24 Hours in a GT car if the off-season schedule allows for it.