Red Bull cannot stop Max Verstappen racing outside F1: 'He calls the shots'

Photo: © IMAGO

Max Verstappen

Red Bull cannot stop Max Verstappen racing outside F1: 'He calls the shots'

Verstappen has got a taste for racing away from F1

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Friday 24 April 2026 12:54

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Former driver and now Sky Sports F1 pundit Naomi Schiff has claimed Red Bull will not be able to stop Max Verstappen from pursuing his racing dreams outside of F1 despite a tragic weekend for motorsport at the Nurburgring.

Verstappen returned to the iconic yet infamous Nordschleife last weekend for NLS4 and NLS5, the qualifiers for the Nurburgring 24-hour race.

The Dutchman is currently gearing up to compete in the legendary endurance event on May 16 with Verstappen Racing, where he will be sharing the No.3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 car with Dani Juncadella, Jules Gounon and Lucas Auer.

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However, concerns have been raised by some voices within the motorsport community over the four-time F1 champion's participation in the event, after a big crash less than 30 minutes into last weekend's NLS4 event tragically claimed the life of BMW driver Juha Miettinen.

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Should Red Bull stop Verstappen Nurburgring entry?

In the latest episode of the Up to Speed podcast, Schiff's co-host Will Buxton asked whether Red Bull should move to stop Verstappen competing in next month's Nurburgring 24-hour given the dangers associated with the German circuit.

Schiff was quick to turn to her own experience of racing at the Green Hell whilst warning that motorsport can of course be inherently dangerous in any capacity.

"I wanted to say that this is not exclusive to the Nordschleife," the Sky Sports F1 presenter responded.

"Like it obviously is a really dangerous circuit. It's a very dangerous race. It's the speed difference is massive. The track is extremely narrow. There's barely any runoff area, lot of blind corners. So, there's a lot of factors in there that make it even more difficult."

Verstappen is no stranger to risking it all in pursuit of victory however, with the 28-year-old having competed in F1 since 2015 as part of the energy drink giant's racing family.

Weighing up the risks of F1 compared to series' such as the NLS, Schiff continued: "But yes, an F1 car is potentially safer, and we've seen incredibly dangerous accidents. I mean, even if you think back a couple of years, back to Romain Grosjean's accident and the fact that he managed to walk out of that cockpit, it's just like blew my mind that he came out of that car.

Verstappen 'calls the shots'

Reflecting on the safety concerns for F1 and racing series outside of it such as the NLS, Schiff concluded: "So yes, it's safer, but can you stop him [Verstappen] from doing what he wants to do? I think he's in a position where he calls the shots."

Verstappen will return from his month away from F1 at next weekend's Miami Grand Prix, which also sees the return of the hectic sprint weekend format.

F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen