Max Verstappen has expressed curiosity in racing in Tremendous GT, however admits the shortage of a real blue-riband occasion makes a visitor look tough to justify.
The four-time Formulation 1 champion turned his first laps in a Nissan Z GT500 automobile at Fuji Speedway final month, as a part of a promotional shoot organised by his employer Crimson Bull.
It marked solely his second in a up to date Tremendous GT prototype following an preliminary outing behind the wheel of a Honda NSX-GT at Motegi in 2022 in the course of the Japanese producer’s end-of -season occasion.
Tremendous GT is taken into account the quickest championship for grand touring automobiles on this planet, with present GT500 machines able to outpacing even the World Endurance Championship’s hypercars over a typical lap round Fuji.
Verstappen stated he relished his expertise aboard the Nissan Z, at the same time as heavy rain left the monitor moist and restricted his working round Fuji.
“It was a whole lot of enjoyable,” the 28-year-old stated on the eve of the Japanese Grand Prix. “Only a disgrace that it was raining fairly a bit, so I could not try this many laps. I might have favored to do extra laps.
“However it’s a improbable automobile, a improbable class on the whole, and it was an incredible expertise for me to drive that automobile, and in addition really feel the grip within the moist. It is fairly completely different to what we’ve in Europe, simply with the ability to drive so many various automobiles is all the time a very good factor.”
Verstappen has more and more been exploring alternatives in sportscar racing, partly as a consequence of his dislike of present F1 hybrids, and recently contested the NLS2 at the Nurburgring Nordschleife in a Mercedes-AMG GT3.
Whereas he’s open to the prospect of racing GT500 machines, that are considerably extra superior than road-based GT3 automobiles, he pointed to Tremendous GT’s format as a key impediment. Requested whether or not he would think about getting into a Tremendous GT race, Verstappen stated: “Who is aware of, I must see.
“It is an incredible class. I want that they had a bit extra of a standout one race, as a substitute of only a championship. If that will be the case, it is simpler to commit to at least one; I can’t do a complete championship and to do one race in a championship typically can also be not the best factor. So, we’ll see.
“I might like to race these automobiles. It actually jogs my memory of how the previous DTM [Class 1] automobiles was, and that is what you additionally actually favored watching.”
Why Tremendous GT lacks a standout race
Tremendous GT500
Picture by: Masahide Kamio
Verstappen’s feedback at Suzuka spotlight a serious hole in Tremendous GT’s present construction. The 2026 season calendar options eight races throughout seven venues, however there’s restricted differentiation between these occasions.
Six of the eight races are run over 300km, the identical distance as a grand prix, whereas two endurance rounds are timed to 3 hours. The Sepang spherical stands out naturally as the one abroad race on the calendar, whereas the Fuji GT 3 Hours is the collection’ de facto showpiece, as it’s scheduled to coincide with the Golden Week vacation season.
Nevertheless, the championship beforehand boasted a real marque occasion that attracted a number of high-profile names, together with the 2009 F1 champion Jenson Button.
Conceived as a standalone race in 1966, the Suzuka 1000km grew into a serious endurance fixture, becoming a member of a number of worldwide collection together with the World Sportscar Championship and the FIA GT Championship. By the point it turned a Tremendous GT spherical in 2006, it was already a longtime occasion, and it helped the collection attain new heights.
As a result of its endurance format, Tremendous GT groups had been allowed to discipline an extra third driver, which paved the way in which for a number of new entrants into the championship. In its early years, it attracted the likes of future F1 driver Adrian Sutil plus present sportscar veteran Oliver Jarvis and the development carried on.
However maybe essentially the most well-known title to enter Tremendous GT by the Suzuka 1000km route is Button. After stepping away from F1 with McLaren, the Briton entered the 2017 Suzuka 1000km, becoming a member of the Mugen Honda staff as its designated third driver.
The race hardly went his approach and he completed a distant twelfth, however the expertise received him hooked and he signed a two-year cope with Honda to race within the championship full-time. Button would go on to win the title along with his team-mate Naoki Yamamoto in 2018, including a GT500 title to his earlier success in F1.
Nevertheless, this pathway to Tremendous GT was primarily shut in 2018 when collection’ promoter GTA joined forces with SRO to launch the Suzuka 10 Hours, a brand new endurance occasion as a part of the Intercontinental GT Problem.
The brand new 10-hour fixture turned Suzuka’s sole ‘Summer season Endurance Race’, shifting the highlight away from Tremendous GT and leaving the Fuji Golden Week spherical because the championship’s de facto headline occasion. With the Suzuka 10 Hours, the promoters aimed for a full-blown worldwide occasion with a robust Japanese identification. However whereas groups competing in Tremendous GT’s GT300 class had been inspired to participate, the format excluded GT500 equipment solely, leaving no risk of top-level manufacturing facility involvement.
The Suzuka 1000km title nonetheless carries vital worth, and SRO revived the format final yr when Japan returned to the IGTC calendar. On this event, Tremendous GT’s GTA-GT300 spec automobiles had been allowed to compete alongside GT3 equipment, with efficiency balanced between the 2 courses.
Tremendous GT, however, has continued to prioritise worldwide growth. In 2025, it efficiently managed to deliver again Sepang to the calendar after a chronic absence, with the occasion instantly proving to be a hit. Tremendous GT has additionally beforehand forayed into Thailand, and each Sepang and Buriram had been on the unique 2020 calendar earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the schedule and compelled the championship to race completely in Japan for the following 5 years.
Might Verstappen nonetheless enter Tremendous GT?
Tremendous GT
Picture by: Masahide Kamio
One avenue stays open for Verstappen, ought to he be severe about making a Tremendous GT look.
Following Sepang’s return to the calendar final yr, organisers floated the thought of a wildcard GT500 entry in 2026. At the moment, the mission was described as a ‘work in progress’, with no producer dedicated to supplying or working a automobile.
Such an entry might, in principle, enable Verstappen to compete at Sepang on 20-21 June, within the quick hole between the F1 races in Barcelona and Spielberg. Nevertheless, the wildcard idea is primarily aimed toward selling Malaysian expertise, which means any involvement from Verstappen would seemingly rely upon exterior backing – doubtlessly from Crimson Bull.
Any wildcard programme, with or with out Verstappen, would additionally must safe cooperation from one of many three GT500 producers in Tremendous GT (Honda, Nissan and Toyota) to provide and run the automobile. Nissan might have some capability after scaling again its GT500 programme from 4 to 3 automobiles this yr as a consequence of monetary points. Notably, Nissan was additionally Crimson Bull’s producer of selection for Verstappen’s take a look at outing at Fuji.
In the end, any participation in Tremendous GT might hinge on Verstappen’s long-term future in F1. The format of Suzuka exposes the shortcomings of the present hybrid bundle, with drivers dropping as a lot as 50km/h on 130R as a consequence of tremendous clipping.
Suzuka is normally a favorite amongst drivers, so the truth that Verstappen could not take pleasure in it as a lot as he would have favored was mirrored in his feedback. The Dutchman admitted that he has some “life” choices to make, as his discontent with F1 grows.
Whereas he could seem resigned by the scenario, he’s additionally working intently with F1 and the FIA to refine the rules. It is unclear what can be the result of these talks, and if the current-generation of automobiles might be suitably modified to his liking for Verstappen to see out his contract with Crimson Bull.
Even when he stays in F1 subsequent yr, chances are high Verstappen might be racing sportscars greater than ever, and it will be exhausting for him to withstand the attract of Tremendous GT.
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