Max Verstappen Eyes Daytona 24 Hours Debut as Red Bull’s Formula 1 Season Implodes
· Yahoo Sports
Max Verstappen is currently languishing in seventh place in the 2026 Formula One Drivers’ Championship, with 43 points on the board. Red Bull Racing is facing its own issues with weight and aero, but is slowly recovering. Yet, instead of focusing his energy entirely on fixing the crisis inside the Milton Keynes garage, the four-time world champion appears to be mentally checking out.
Rather than leading the engineering recovery, Verstappen is openly prioritizing his off-season endurance racing schedule.
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Verstappen’s Endurance Distraction
The Dutchman’s shifting priorities were recently highlighted by Spanish motorsport outlet SoyMotor. In a social media post (via X.com), the publication detailed Verstappen’s growing obsession with competing outside of Formula One. Responding to rumors about a potential entry into the legendary Daytona 24 Hours, Verstappen casually admitted, “It’s an idea, it’s not concrete yet but I’d really like to do it.”
The post also highlighted his immediate desire to return to the notoriously dangerous Nordschleife circuit, noting his explicit condition for 2027: “If next year they coincide again with a weekend without Formula 1, I’d like to go back.”
Verstappen’s desire to return to the “Green Hell” stems from his recent endurance debut at the Nürburgring 24 Hours earlier this May. Driving a Mercedes-AMG GT3 for Team Verstappen Racing alongside established GT specialists like Lucas Auer and Jules Gounon, he was actively fighting for a maiden victory. However, a devastating mechanical failure left his team stranded in the pit box for hours, eventually resulting in a dismal 38th-place finish.
While that bitter defeat explains his desire for a Nordschleife rematch, a bid for the Daytona 24 Hours represents a massive logistical distraction that actively threatens his Formula One commitments.
Compromising His F1 Preparation?
The prestigious American endurance event takes place in late January, directly cutting into the crucial winter break. Speaking to the Dutch publication De Telegraaf, Verstappen openly acknowledged that racing at Daytona would directly compromise his Formula One physical preparation.
“If I wanted to do that, I will have to adjust my entire training programme to it, though,” Verstappen confessed. “Normally I start preparing for the new season in January. I would then have to adjust that”.
This is a terrifying public admission for Red Bull. Formula One teams are currently preparing to transition into the massive 2027 engine regulation overhaul. To successfully develop the new 60/40 internal combustion power units, Red Bull desperately needs their star driver fully locked in, providing baseline simulator feedback and peaking physically during the winter development cycle.
If Verstappen is willing to actively alter his core Formula One physical training routine to run a GT3 car around the Florida banking in January, it sends a blaring warning signal to the paddock. Combined with his ongoing refusal to confirm his 2027 Red Bull seat due to his performance exit clause, Verstappen is sending a clear message: his true passion no longer lies in salvaging Red Bull’s current Formula One disaster.