Max Verstappen has successfully completed his first race on the Nürburgring Nordschleife – How the premiere went and what the world champion has to say about his racing debut
Max Verstappen has successfully completed his racing debut on the Nordschleife: The Formula 1 world champion took part in the seventh round of the Nürburgring Long Distance Series (NLS) in a Porsche Cayman in order to obtain the required “Nordschleife driver’s license” for the GT3 class – with success!
The 27-year-old Dutchman, who had already completed the training course on Friday, was actually unable to meet all the criteria for obtaining a DMSB Permit Nordschleife (DPN) in category A in Saturday’s four-hour race. Nevertheless, the race was enough to obtain the coveted Nordschleife license.
“I’m glad that everything went smoothly and I got my DMSB Permit Nordschleife,” reveals Verstappen, who took off again in his private jet from Cologne shortly after the race and will not be participating in the second race on Sunday. “I really enjoyed it, but that’s always the case here.”
Experience “really valuable” for Verstappen
“It was good to drive stints in traffic during the race, with both faster and slower cars,” said the world champion, who apparently had no problem obtaining the necessary “Nordschleife driver’s license.” This was precisely what had caused heated discussions in recent days.
“There was a ‘Code 60’ phase, double waved yellow flags, and a normal yellow phase. I drove in wet, dry, and mixed conditions,“ summarized the Red Bull driver. ”I gained experience of where there is grip and where there isn’t, and I also completed a start. It was really valuable to gain more experience on this track.”
Verstappen completed the required 14 race laps in the Cayman 89 from the SP7 class, which Verstappen was also supposed to drive. This was because Lulham had already had an accident in qualifying.
DPN committee grants permit anyway
The livestream showed Verstappen and Lulham entering the Nordschleife in tandem with the two Lionspeed Porsche Caymans. However, only Verstappen returned a few minutes later. It is unclear exactly what happened during the approximately 20-kilometer Nordschleife lap.
However, the damage to the Cayman 89 was so extensive that the duo was unable to take part in the subsequent race. At least Lulham was able to leave the pit lane, meaning that the vehicle officially started the race. And that was enough for the Formula 1 driver to obtain the coveted “Nordschleife driver’s license.”
The DPN decision-making committee, which includes representatives from the DMSB (German Motor Sport Federation) and 24-hour races as well as (former) drivers from the Nürburgring Endurance Series, can approve exceptions in such cases.
And that was the case with Verstappen: the committee met on Saturday evening and gave the green light.
Max Verstappen makes a strong Nordschleife debut
Why? On Saturday, the Dutchman proved that he is not only a top contender in Formula 1, but also on the Nordschleife – even though his Porsche Cayman was throttled by around 125 hp compared to the competition in the Cup3 class and was also around 35 kilograms heavier.
But in rainy qualifying, Verstappen was only 15 seconds slower than the pole setter in his class. At the start of the race, the Cayman’s performance deficit became apparent: aerial footage showed that Verstappen barely got off the mark compared to his competitors, with the faster cars flying past him on the left and right.
that time lost on the straights due to his detuned car pic.twitter.com/lowukUcU9m
— Verstappen News (@verstappenews) September 13, 2025
The Red Bull driver then drove an unremarkable race, in which he did nothing wrong and completed the 14 laps required for the A permit. He then handed over the cockpit to his teammate Lulham, who brought the Porsche Cayman home in seventh place in its class and 27th overall out of more than 100 starters after four hours.
Verstappen raves about the Nordschleife: “It’s a challenge, and today we saw that some sections of the track were dry and others were wet,” reports the Dutchman. “The surface also varies around the course, which makes it difficult to put together a perfect lap, but that’s exactly what makes it so special.”
Emil Frey plans GT3 start with Verstappen
Thanks to his new Nordschleife license, Verstappen could already be competing in the next NLS race on September 27 with Emil Frey Racing’s Ferrari 296 GT3. “We’re ready whenever he wants to drive.”
“We know the Nordschleife. We’ve already tested there with him in the Ferrari,” recalls the Swiss driver, referring to the Nordschleife test in May, when Verstappen even set a track record. “If he calls us, we’ll come to the Nordschleife.”
“We would be delighted to drive there. Let’s see if he has the license and if he still wants to,” adds Frey-Hilti. It all depends on Verstappen now. “We are ready on our side. His car is ready whenever he wants.”
“The sooner we know, the better it is for our planning. We’ll probably hear in the next few days whether he wants to drive.” However, there are many indications that Verstappen will return to the Eifel as soon as possible: “It would be fantastic to compete in a 24-hour race here in a GT3 car,” he grins.
