Max Verstappen tested the Mercedes-AMG GT3 shortly before Christmas in Portugal.
Max Verstappen is not resting after the end of the Formula 1 season this year, and as in the past, he is spending the last kilometers behind the wheel of a non-F1 racing car when he appeared at the Portimão circuit on Tuesday, where he tested a GT3 car.
According to information from the French website Endurance Info, the four-time F1 world champion sat in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 during a test with the 2 Seas Motorsport team. Mercedes factory driver Jules Gounon was also present at the test.
Verstappen’s return to the wheel comes just after a very close finish to this year’s Formula 1 season, which saw the Dutchman miss out on a fifth title by just two points to Lando Norris. Although he was supposed to be present at the FIA awards ceremony in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, after the season, he did not attend the ceremony. The reason was a cold, due to which he had to miss the official program.
Testing in Portugal fits in with Verstappen’s long-standing interest in endurance and GT racing. During this year, he appeared in several different cars – in addition to the Mercedes-AMG GT3, he also sat in a Ferrari 296 GT3, with which he was able to win the four-hour endurance race at the Nürburgring, and during the summer he drove an Aston Martin special at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
Interestingly, Verstappen’s testing in Portugal coincided with the announcement when Formula 1 officially confirmed the return of the Portuguese Grand Prix to the calendar in 2027.
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