Verstappen keen on GT3 if 2026 Red Bull falls short

Max Verstappen says he could expand his horizons beyond Formula 1 if Red Bull’s all-new 2026 project is not competitive.

Speaking to Viaplay, the four-time world champion admitted his future priorities depend on the team’s performance.

“It depends on how fast we are next season. If we’re in it, then my focus will be completely on Formula 1, but if not, then you can maybe do other things on the side.”

Asked about Dakar, the Dutchman was blunt. “I’m not going to pull a car like that out of the sand. I hate sand,” he laughed.

But endurance racing still appeals: “Driving 24-hour races has always fascinated me. It’s special and very different from Formula 1. You share a car with someone else. My goal was always to be successful in Formula 1, I succeeded. In the future, you want different things.”

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko admitted recently: “To keep Max happy, you have to talk about simulators or GT3!” The backdrop is ongoing speculation about Verstappen’s long-term future, including links to Mercedes during Christian Horner’s leadership troubles. His father Jos confirms the subject has been discussed.

“It’s not that we’ve talked about it a lot this year, but we’ve talked about it more this year than last year,” he said. “You see a lot of nonsense (in the media), but we also talk about Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull, but that’s understandable. Ultimately, Max makes the final decision.”

Max agreed: “I have to choose what I want.” Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has also acknowledged conversations with the Verstappens. “Max also has his reasons for staying at Red Bull. He’s not going to just walk away,” he told De Telegraaf. “It never got that concrete. But let’s see what happens in two or three years.

“We get along really well personally. When you’re on the same wavelength, everything goes a bit easier. But it’s possible we’ll never work together. There’s a 50 percent chance of that, and a 50% chance that we will.”

Verstappen himself downplays the intrigue, saying his rapport with Wolff extends beyond F1 politics. “There is no secret about going to Sardinia,” he revealed. “I even went to lunch with Toto and his family. It is not even about Formula 1, it is just life.

Sometimes you meet and you have good relationships with people. I think it is great that it is not just about competition.”

Wolff joked that missing out on Verstappen for 2026 has one benefit. “Then I only have to pay ten percent of what I might have paid,” he smiled. “Raymond (Vermeulen) called me a cheap Austrian and I replied: ‘And you’re a greedy Dutchman’.”

But the Austrian also warned of the scale of Red Bull’s challenge with its new Ford engine program. “This project is like climbing Mount Everest. I think it’s going to be a huge challenge for them.”

Meanwhile, Jos Verstappen continues to race in rallies and is fighting for the Belgian rally championship. “Then he’ll be the only Verstappen to become champion this year,” Max laughed.