Max Verstappen's racing plans away from F1 get 'more serious'

Verstappen in gt racing kit smiling in front of a Verstappen.com branded Mercedes-AMG GT3 — Photo: © IMAGO

Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen's racing plans away from F1 get 'more serious'

Max Verstappen has many off-track passions

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Monday 12 January 2026 12:56

Max Verstappen has revealed that his racing endeavours outside of F1 are getting 'more and more serious'.

As well as winning eight grands prix in 2025 - more than any other driver - and losing out on the championship by just two points, Verstappen also competed in a race at the Nurburging Nordschleife, winning on his GT3 debut.

On top of this, the Dutchman continued with his sim racing exploits, but he also entered his own team into the GT World Challenge Europe Gold Cup.

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Thierry Vermeulen, Harry King, and Chris Lulham - who comes from a sim racing background - were Verstappen's drivers in the team, and they managed to claim Gold Cup success, something that Verstappen set out as their target for 2025.

Now, the 28-year-old wants the team to compete in the pro car level of the championship, revealing that his GT Racing project is getting 'bigger and better'.

"Yeah, it's becoming more and more serious," Verstappen told Red Bull's YouTube channel. "We entered this year not as a pro car but in the Gold Cup and one of the drivers came from the sim racing world so for me to put him immediately in the pro car championship was probably a bit much.

"But I always say that we do compare ourselves with them in terms of lap time, that's the target. We won the Gold Cup championship which was our target starting the year and I think throughout then year the drivers made some nice steps forward, really understanding how to overcome difficulties with the car balance.

"Next year we want to be in the pro championship basically, we're changing cars, you will find out soon, but yeah it's getting bigger and better."

How long will Verstappen race in F1?

Verstappen has many passions away from F1, with sim racing, GT Racing and a desire to one day compete in the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans race just to name a few.

On top of this, Verstappen also has a young family, following his partner Kelly Piquet giving birth earlier this year.

The length of Verstappen's career may well rest upon how long he can be challenging for championships for, with the Dutchman unlikely to be wanting to run in the midfield.

In a recent interview, the champion suggested that he may only race in the sport for another five seasons, if the calendar remains as demanding as it currently is.

"I don't see myself driving in Formula 1 until I'm 44, let alone with 24 races per season," he told Viaplay in an end of season interview. "Even being in F1 at 34 would be too much."

There's no doubt, however, that his other passions will continue to bring him joy in the years to come, with his team ownership role really ramping up.

F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen