15/06/2023
NEWS STORY
Max Verstappen has revealed that Helmut Marko ruled out the Dutchman's bid to drive one of his old cars at the Nurburgring.
As previously reported, Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo will take to the infamous Nordschleife in September, the German at the wheel of his 2011 title-winning car, albeit powered by e-fuels.
Max Verstappen has revealed that he wanted to take part in the demonstration runs also, but was ruled out by Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko.
"I wanted to do it, but I was not allowed by Helmut," he told reporters in Montreal. "He knew that I would try and go to the limits. I would have loved to do it.
"I didn't want to start unnecessary issues," he added. "I heard this thing was coming up, and Helmut was sitting at the table when it came up, and he said: 'No, no, no, you're not doing that!'"
The Dutchman admitted that Timo Bernhard's lap record on 5:19.55s, set in a Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo in 2018, might have proved too great a temptation.
"I would have definitely given it a go," he laughed. "But you need proper tyres not the demo tyres, which is not allowed."
Despite the Nordschleife's fearsome reputation, the two-time world champion insists that the circuit is no more dangerous than some of those F1 still runs at.
"It's risky to drive here," he said. "It just depends on how you hit a barrier. But that's normally not the plan, of course. But hopefully one day I can do it."
With an F1 run ruled out, when asked which other car he might try, the youngster replied: "Ideally, that would have been amazing in an F1 car, but if it's not allowed in an F1 car, then maybe one day in a GT3 car."