- Richard Bradley of 24 Hours of Le Mans, has confirmed that Max Verstappen intends to compete in the sport
- The Red Bull driver according to Bradley has ambitions to start his own GT3
- Verstappen hinted that he could drop out of F1 before the lapse of his contract in 2028
Richard Bradley, the LMP2 winner of the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, has confirmed that Max Verstappen intends to compete in the sport after retiring from F1.
The Red Bull driver according to Bradley has ambitions to start his own GT3 outfit and GT racing will go a long way in bolstering his plans.
He told Daily Express that “Max wants to do Le Mans one day. Well, this is the perfect way to get into it. And also, with GT racing, you don’t have the aerodynamic effects of the same level you do in Formula 1. So you don’t get the dirty air, the turbulence effect. So the racing is unbelievable.”
Max Verstappen. Photo/scroll.in
Verstappen hinted that he could drop out of F1 before the lapse of his contract in 2028 following the introduction of sprint races this season.
He says that he loves racing, winning the championship and a tidy salary but with the expanding F1 calendar, he is wondering if Formula One is giving him a good life.
The Red Bull driver’s reservations originate from the ever-expanding schedule and F1’s trials of new formats, like the first sprint in Baku this weekend.
“I always said that even if there won’t be any more sprint races if we keep expanding the calendar and the whole weekend is that long, at one point you question yourself: is it worth it?” Verstappen told BBC Sport.
He said a tight schedule in the calendar will take away all the goodness of racing because it shuts down one’s options to do something different.
With such a schedule, he may reconsider having his life for the next five years with Red Bull.
“I have the contract until the end of 2028, and then we’ll review it again, but I do feel that if it’s getting at one point too much, it’s time for a change,” he said.
George Russell with Max Verstappen. Photo DPPI
F1 implemented the new format for sprint races starting with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix which was the fourth race of the 2023 season. A sprint is a shorter independent race which will have its separate qualifying session.
Thus, qualifying for the main Grand Prix now happens on Friday ahead of the weekend’s main. The same knockout system used in the main grid is used in the sprint qualifying session.
GT3 racing is a category of sports car racing governed by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA).
GT3 cars are based on production sports cars, but they have been modified for racing. They have more powerful engines, better aerodynamics, and a wider track than their road-going counterparts.
Further, GT3 racing is popular all over the world, and there are many different series that run GT3 cars and Verstappen’s ambitions lie in here.
Now 25, he has a long future ahead of him after his contract with Red Bull ends in 2028 when he hits 30.
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