Max Verstappen’s trip to the Nürburgring Nordschleife has sparked interest among his fellow drivers – George Russell wants to go there with a special guest
Max Verstappen’s spectacular outing in a GT3 car on the Nürburgring Nordschleife continues to cause a stir in the Formula 1 paddock in Imola. In the run-up to the Grand Prix, the world champion’s appearance in the “Green Hell” was one of the main topics of conversation – and has inspired his colleagues to follow suit.
One of them is George Russell. The Mercedes driver reveals that a trip to the Nordschleife has long been on his personal agenda – and he’s not alone: “Toto [Wolff] and I want to drive to the Nordschleife together,” says the Brit. “He did a record lap there once before he had a puncture and broke his ribs. But yes, we’ll definitely do that at some point.”
Apart from that, Russell is not averse to the idea of driving more – even outside Formula 1: “We’ve talked about it a lot, that I’d like to change my schedule a bit so I can drive more. Because that’s what I love,” he emphasizes.
He was already driving the virtual version of the Nordschleife during the winter break: ”I’ve been driving a lot in [the racing simulation] iRacing and would like to get more involved in things like that.”
“But it’s very challenging when you have so many sponsorship commitments – the traveling, the jet lag, the debriefings with the team, and so on. The only thing that helps is having your own private jet to save some time.”
Albon: ‘You learn to drive a different car quickly’
Williams driver Alexander Albon is also open to ventures into other racing categories. After his time with Red Bull, the Thai driver took part in the DTM in 2021, which uses GT3 cars – a move that has benefited him in the long term: “You expand your knowledge in something like that – and it doesn’t matter whether you’re sitting in a Formula 1 car or not.”
“It can be a road car, a rally car – you learn how to drive different vehicles quickly. Of course, I say that because I drove in the DTM. It was so different for me from Formula 1, but I learned a lot.”
He doesn’t have any specific plans for the Nordschleife at the moment, but he doesn’t question the learning effect: “I don’t know if it helped me directly when I came back to Formula 1, but it was definitely helpful. You learn a different technique, a different way of driving a car fast – and that’s what it’s all about.”
Hülkenberg: “I don’t see the problem”
Nico Hülkenberg, on the other hand, has a wealth of experience from other racing worlds and is completely relaxed about Verstappen’s trip to the Nordschleife in the middle of the Formula 1 season: “I drove at Le Mans once during the Formula 1 season, so I don’t see the problem.”
The German was part of Porsche’s Le Mans winning team in 2015 and was supposed to compete in the ADAC GT Masters on the Nürburgring Grand Prix circuit in 2020. However, the race was canceled because he had to step in at short notice for Sergio Perez, who had contracted COVID-19, at Racing Point in Silverstone in Formula 1.
Nevertheless, Hülkenberg, who has driven there himself in a private car, remains fascinated by the Nordschleife: “I definitely think the Nordschleife is the toughest track in the world because it’s so long, has so many different corners, and the weather varies in different sections. It’s super tricky and challenging.”
