World Rally Champion endorses Max Verstappen entry

Max Verstappen

World Rally Champion endorses Max Verstappen entry

Would Max Verstappen join the WRC?

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Friday 29 May 2026 19:57

Four-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen has received a proposition to join the World Rally Championship (WRC).

Verstappen is well known to enjoy other racing series around the world, competing in GT3 racing where he recently completed the iconic endurance race Nurburgring 24 Hours.

His father Jos Verstappen - who was also an F1 driver - competes in rally racing, taking part in multiple rally events around the world, and he is currently competing in the European Rally Championship.

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Now, Sebastien Ogier who is a nine-time championship winner at the highest level of rally - WRC - has invited four-time F1 champion Verstappen for a test in a rally car, something that Verstappen has previously said he would not be keen to do.

Ogier recently posted a photo on Instagram of himself with Max and Jos, asking in the caption: “What’s next Max? Maybe rally like your father?”

“It was kind of a joke you make on social media, but obviously he likes new experiences and things like this,” Ogier told Motorsport.com.

“He has driven my old Fiesta already once last year but it wasn’t in the best place, it was on a circuit. I told him that if you really want to [drive it] you need to try it in a proper place because a circuit is not ideal for the car. But I’m sure a guy like him could be attracted at one point [to rallying], so why not?

“My answer was honest, I said if he wants to join for a test I would be happy to welcome him.”

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Would Verstappen want to do rally racing?

Verstappen recently spoke to the Up to Speed podcast, where he admitted that the risks involved in rally racing are too high for him to take.

Speaking about his father Jos' rally exploits, Verstappen said: "Yeah, it's pretty crazy to be honest. I mean what I find really impressive is that he's 53 years old now, almost 54, and he's racing against guys that are, what, late 20s, early 30s. And in some championships, of course, he's beating them.

"And of course, in rallying, a lot goes through notes, but at the end of the day, when you do like a certain rally a few times, you go off muscle memory a little bit for sure. So if you do it for a few years, you get better at it naturally.

"He's very good at it to be honest. Like he loves it, he's very hard to beat. When we go on to like rent a little space on an airport and they set out a track and then you drive together like honestly I have to go flat out to beat him.

"That I like doing but in between like a proper stage and I mean he shares all the videos that he's doing in whatever kind of rally car that he's driving and I mean I find it really impressive. I think it's really cool but I just think about if I make a mistake and I hit that tree, I mean the tree is not moving and that for me is like my limit.

"That for me is something that I don't want to do," Verstappen admitted. "It's just a too high of a risk. And I know that sounds maybe a bit silly but in Formula 1 at least most of the time when you crash it's like there is a barrier that should absorb the impact a bit more and it's a bit different - in my head at least - and it's just a risk that I'm not willing to take. But it is really cool to see."

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F1 Max Verstappen Jos Verstappen