Verstappen explains 'Franz Hermann' and Nordschleife race plans

Max Verstappen captivated both Formula 1 and the wider motorsport community by using his time between F1 races to go 'undercover' for a Nurburgring Nordschleife test run.

In the gap between F1's Miami and Emilia Romagna Grands Prix, Verstappen ran on track during a Friday test session ahead of the third round of the ADAC Nurburgring Langstrecken-Serie (formerly known as the VLN series).

He drove a Ferrari 296 GT3 operated by Emil Frey Racing, the GT outfit that runs the GT World Challenge programme for Verstappen's own Verstappen.com racing outfit.



Why 'Franz Hermann'?

A big part of why Verstappen's test outing made waves was because he had entered himself under a fake name, 'Franz Hermann' - which he himself came up with.



"I said 'let's make it as German as you can'," he said of the name choice when talking to F1 media at the Emilia Romagna GP in his first media appearance after the test.

But why was he running under a fake name at all - especially as it took virtually no time for him to be recognised, and as the Ferrari was anyway decked out in Verstappen.com's Red Bull colours.



"You're not on the entry list," Verstappen explained. "Otherwise people rock up at 8am knowing that my name is on the entry list. 

"I knew that once I was there people would realise, it's normal! But at least I wasn't on the entry list. So at least at 8-9am it was pretty calm."

How fast did he go?

There are a few possible Nurburging configurations, but the official record on the NLS configuration with a GT3 car in competition is held by Norwegian Christian Krognes.



A Nordschleife veteran for the Walkenhorst team, Krognes ran a 7m49.578s back in 2022 in a BMW M4 GT3.



There was no official timing for Verstappen's running, but it was rumoured that he went below the official lap record. Was that true?

"It was, yeah," Verstappen stated matter-of-factly. And he confirmed he was running compliant to NLS spec, as anything else "would be a bit silly of course".



"For me I'm not there to show that I can break a lap record or whatever record.

"I was just having fun and learning the track together with the team, with Emil Frey as well, they weren't there before.

"For them also the dream is to do 24 Hours there, so... yeah, we just had a good time getting up to speed.

"We were lucky with the conditions as well, it was really nice and sunny. That's great if you can have that."

What's the plan?

This wasn't Verstappen's first GT3 test - but this time he specifically confirmed the intention for it to lead to racing down the line.



"I would like to do that in the future," said Verstappen of the 24 Hours of the Nurburgring. 

"That's why I'm doing all these things to prepare a bit, get a bit of experience - so you don't need to do that in the future."

This year's 24-hour-race slots in between the Canadian GP and the Austrian GP, though Verstappen's "in the future" suggests he might not be operating on such a short timeline - and he was reluctant to offer any specifics.

The Nordschleife has its own complicated system of racing licenses granted by the German motorsport federation DMSB, and for Verstappen to run in the GT3 class in the 24 Hours he would theoretically have to contest preparatory NLS races in lesser machinery (and avoid penalties in those).



But the idea that an exception would be made for a four-time F1 champion is hardly far-fetched, and Verstappen repeatedly confirmed that he was already in conversations with the local authorities about what it would take for him to get a license.



"We are discussing to them now- because my schedule is of course very full. We're speaking to them of course. Of course I know what is needed, right?"



How much fun did he have?

Verstappen arrived at the track with an extensive knowledge of the Nordschleife layout already.

His simracing exploits are well-documented, and a major part of those is what he's done on the virtual version of the Nordschleife in the online game iRacing - where Verstappen has already won multiple major 24-hour races.



That past experience helped "a lot" tackling it for the first time in real life.



"I've done thousands of laps around there," Verstappen added, "so for me when I got there in real life it was more knowing the grip level, the new Tarmac in places, and then the grip level of the car. 

"And then of course a few barriers here and there are modified a bit.

"The most important is that you know exactly where you're going, and that I knew already."



He said driving an F1 car was still more of a thrill than running a GT3 at Nordschleife, but said: "At the same time I also had a lot of fun out there. But it's testing, so you're always a bit more relaxed anyway.

"I would not want to drive there with these [F1] cars. It's too bumpy, too many compressions. But honestly for me when I drove there, I think the GT3 speed is perfectly fine. Anything above that becomes already more risky."

Would Red Bull allow it?

Red Bull - or more specifically its motorsport advisor Helmut Marko - famously barred Verstappen from taking part in its F1 demo run at the Nordschleife two years ago because of the potential danger.


"He knew I’d try to go to the limit. I would have loved to do it," Verstappen said at the time.



But while a 24-hour race entry would presumably also require Red Bull dispensation, Verstappen sees it as a totally different matter.



"It's my passion," he said. "Running this year also with the GT3 team, I want to gather also more information for myself, and at the end of the day it's my private time."