Exclusive: Max Verstappen to race at Nürburgring in September
FlopGear -- a motorsport outlet better known for its tongue-in-cheek "FlopNews" satire -- has broken a genuinely stunning news story from a trustworthy internal source. According to an exclusive report from the satirical page, reigning Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen will compete in the 65th ADAC ACAS Cup, a 4-hour Nürburgring endurance race, on 13 September 2025.
Verstappen is set to drive a Ferrari 296 GT3 for the Swiss Emil Frey Racing team in that event, marking a rare crossover where an active F1 star joins the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS) grid. FlopGear's scoop stands out precisely because the site is famous for inaffidabile (unreliable) spoof stories -- yet this time the news is very real, backed by credible insider information and treated with an unusually serious tone.
The secret GT3 test as "Franz Hermann"
Max Verstappen secretly tested the Emil Frey Ferrari 296 GT3 at the Nürburgring earlier in 2025 under the alias "Franz Hermann."
This surprise race outing didn't come out of nowhere -- it builds on an actual event from earlier this year. In May 2025, Verstappen quietly participated in an official Nürburgring Endurance Series test session using the pseudonym "Franz Hermann". The four-time F1 champion slipped behind the wheel of an Emil Frey Ferrari 296 GT3 (the same model he'll race) with a fake name on the car's window to avoid blowing his cover. He even quipped that he chose an alias "as German as we can" to keep his real name off the entry list and prevent early-morning crowds from swarming the track.
Keen-eyed observers eventually spotted his distinctive helmet and figured out the ruse, but not before Verstappen logged serious laps. Insiders reported that he was on blistering form -- allegedly beating the standing GT3 lap record of 7m49.578s around the Nordschleife -- a feat the Dutchman later acknowledged, though he insisted he was just "having fun and learning the track" during the test. Notably, this covert test really happened and was confirmed by Verstappen himself afterward, lending credence to FlopGear's current report built on those facts.
At the time, Verstappen did not hold the required Nordschleife racing permit to officially race a GT3 car in NLS competition -- highlighting that the "Franz Hermann" outing was purely exploratory. However, the new plan to race in September implies any licensing hurdles have since been cleared, paving the way for his official debut.
Endurance ambitions and team up
Verstappen's foray into GT3 endurance racing aligns with his long-term ambitions beyond Formula 1. The 27-year-old superstar has openly expressed a desire to tackle major sports car events and "definitely wants to do endurance at some point" in his career. "I would like to do that in the future. That's why I'm doing all these things to prepare a bit, get a bit of experience," Verstappen said after his Nürburgring test, explaining that turning laps in a GT3 car is part of his passion project to learn the craft of endurance racing. In fact, he described GT outings as "my passion" done in his free time, separate from his F1 duties.
The upcoming ACAS Cup race will not only satisfy his personal drive for new challenges, but also help him build familiarity with the grueling Nordschleife in case he enters the 24 Hours Nürburgring in the future. Emil Frey Racing -- the team running the Ferrari 296 GT3 -- provides an ideal partner for this venture. The Swiss outfit usually competes in GT championships (including DTM) and happens to employ Thierry Vermeulen, a close friend of Verstappen and the son of his manager Raymond. (Verstappen originally connected with the team through Vermeulen, who shares the Ferrari cockpit in other series.) With this unprecedented entry, fans will witness a current F1 champion mixing it up with GT3 specialists on the legendary "Green Hell." It's a motorsport crossover nobody expected to be confirmed by FlopGear of all places -- but as the satirical site's exclusive has proven, sometimes truth is stranger (and more exciting) than fiction.
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- Max Verstappen Media