Ford admit Max Verstappen talks about series switch

Ford admit they are in regular talks with four-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen about a potential future in the World Endurance Championship.

The 28-year-old Dutchman is already racing outside F1, in regular action in the NLS at the Nurburgring's Nordschleife this season. Next weekend he will compete in the brutal 24 Hours Race at the iconic German track.

A future in Hypercars is also clearly on the agenda for the Red Bull superstar, with Ford boss Mark Rushbrook confirming that Verstappen is keen to take on the epic challenge of the 24 Hours race at Le Mans.

Ford already has a close relationship with Verstappen - it is part of Red Bull's F1 Powertrains project - and its Hypercar will debut in 2027. Rushbrook is hopeful Max will be behind the wheel when it does.

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Ford in 'regular discussions' with Verstappen

“Yes, of course,” Ford Performance director Rushbrook told Motorsport when asked if talks have been held. “We love Max. We love what he does in the Formula 1 car, on the track.

“We love him off the track. He's a great person, as much as he's a great driver. We love his passion to be racing GT3, like he is, and what he does with developing drivers through sim racing and getting them on the track.

“So, of course, we have regular discussions with him about what are the opportunities to do more in sportscar, including Hypercar."

Verstappen keen to mount Le Mans bid

Right now Verstappen is contracted to Red Bull until 2028 (though he does have an exit clause in his contract), which means scheduling conflicts make any move a tricky proposition. Rushbrook himself admitted: "We're not announcing anything".

“He wants to go race Le Mans and race for the overall win, but most years the schedule doesn't allow it, right? While he's a committed Formula 1 driver, most years now it's a conflict.

“I think we're just talking about what the opportunity is and if and when it makes sense, and everybody wants to do it, then great.”

Ford boss gushes about special Verstappen

Ford have already seen up close and personal just how special Verstappen is, with Rushbrook gushing about the Dutchman's talents.

“One of the great things about Max, is drivers like him don't come along that often, in terms of what he accomplishes on track, right? But it's how he accomplishes it.”

“Especially this year when we were in Barcelona [for the F1 shakedown]. Hearing his feedback on the radio while he's out on track, testing his brand new car, and then he would come back in after doing, depending on the stint, 30, 40, 50 laps.

“The amount of detail that he's able to give feedback to the engineers that is so much more valuable than all the data that the engineers have."

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