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Max Verstappen won on his debut GT3 race at the Nurburgring Nordschleife, while driving a Ferrari 296 GT3 along with Chris Lulham to race victory. Subsequently, fans were stoked to witness the feat that the Dutchman achieved while taking a dig at Lewis Hamilton's venture with the prancing horses on the F1 front.
Verstappen drove around the green hell two weeks ago in a detuned Porsche Cayman GT4 to secure his DMSB Grade A permit to race GT3 cars at the full length of the track. This allowed him to participate in the ninth round of the Nurburgring Endurance Series (NLS) with the Ferrari 296 GT3 under the Emil Frey Racing banner.
Moreover, the four-time F1 champion drove just over two hours before swapping driving duties with Chris Lulham, who was at the helm of the #31 car when it took the chequered flag. This meant that the pair had won the race around the revered track on their first attempt in a Ferrari GT3 car.
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On the other hand, with Lewis Hamilton not having won a single race with Ferrari in the Grand Prix format, fans took a dig at the Briton over on social media as they wrote:
"Won in a Ferrari earlier than [Lewis] Hamilton."
"Max won a race in a Ferrari before Lewis Hamilton," one fan wrote.
"Not bad for a rookie," another fan wrote.
Meanwhile, other fans were ecstatic about the Dutchman's impressive feat, as they wrote:
"SIMPLYYY LOVELY," one netizen wrote.
"Greatest of all TIME 🦁," another netizen wrote.
"Full time GT3 racers beaten by a sim racer," a third netizen shared.
Max Verstappen's affairs with Nurburgring Nordschleife began earlier in the year, culminating in his recent win at the fabled track.
Max Verstappen shares his thoughts after winning a race at the Nurburgring Nordschleife
Max Verstappen qualified third for the race. But heading into turn one on the opening lap, he overtook the pole sitter and never looked back since.
He drove two stints before giving the Ferrari 296 GT3 to Chris Lulham, ultimately taking it to the race win. So, reflecting on his day at the green hell, the 27-year-old said in the post-race interview (via RN365):
"Yes, it was great. The first two stints went really well. The car performs well on a dry track, I already knew that from qualifying, we didn't make any big mistakes, and to win here on our first attempt is obviously fantastic."
"I didn't see the [first lap incident involving another car] at the time. I only saw it after my stints, but these things happen. Of course, I would love to compete in the 24-hour race, whether that happens next year or later, but we still need more experience for that, of course. That's a given, so hopefully we can compete in more races next year."
On the other hand, Max Verstappen seemingly does not have any other racing commitments apart from the F1 sphere in 2025, while this could change for 2026, if the Dutchman intends to take part in the 24-Hour race at the track.
