F1 champion Max Verstappen STUNS with 'unusual' Ferrari drive

Credit for photo: ADAC Motorsport x IMAGO x GPFans — Photo: © IMAGO

Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen STUNS with 'unusual' Ferrari drive

Verstappen shocked in his Ferrari 296 GT3

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Saturday 27 September 2025 14:04 Updated: 17:00

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F1 champion Max Verstappen stunned the field with his ‘unusual’ pace at the 57th ADAC Barbarossa where he raced in his Ferrari 296 GT3 car.

After acquiring his DMSB Permit A to compete in GT3 machinery, Verstappen made his debut in the class at the Nurburgring Nordschleife on Saturday.

In the morning qualifying session, the champion secured a third place grid slot for the race, but before then, Verstappen reportedly broke the fastest lap time at the track with a time of 7 min 45 seconds during practice.

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However, the Dutchman didn’t use all his energy in the morning, and went on to further impress during the race.

After the first hour of the four-hour event on Saturday, Verstappen led the pack with an astonishing 20-second advantage before pulling into the pits.

Prior to his stop however, the commentators remarked on Verstappen’s performance and how ‘unusual’ his dominance was for the series.

Verstappen shocks in GT3 race debut

After driving his Ferrari 296 for an hour, the commentators on the NLS live stream explained: “At this point in the race, with now a 20-second margin, this is really unusual in this series, that’s how clear Max Verstappen is in his Emil Frey Racing Ferrari ahead of Frank Stippler’s Haupt Racing Team Mustang.”

At the end of lap seven, Verstappen made his first stop of the race, in a crucial moment in his attempt to maintain the lead.

The commentators continued: “He doesn’t want to lose a second, he’s sitting on a lead of over 20 seconds.”

“I’m fairly sure Max has enjoyed that first racing run in the top class," before Verstappen posted a time of 7:55.234 as an in-lap.

Commentators debated whether the four-time F1 champion would be swapping with team-mate Chris Lulham, or if he would continue, but Verstappen was then released from the pits to continue the next stint without initiating the driver swap.

The Red Bull F1 driver was one of the last of the batch to make his stop and lost the lead after coming into the pits for over three minutes, but returned to the track in a comfortable position.

The 27-year-old only continued to build his lead during the second hour however, where the commentators were in awe of Verstappen’s dominance in Germany.

“At this point, he’s really in a sweet spot in that Emil Frey Racing Verstappen.com Ferrari,” they said.

“43 seconds clear and going away. Is there a problem in terms of performance for anybody else? No not really, it’s just simply the pace of the flying Dutchman at the moment.”

Verstappen and Lulham secured their first victory at the end of the four-hour event, in a dominant display for the champion's race debut.

NLS RESULTS: Max Verstappen SCHOOLS rivals with dominant Nurburgring victory

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