Helmut Marko has banned Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen from driving on the famous Nordschleife circuit at the Nurburgring, the Dutchman has revealed.
Red Bull will send four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel and reserve driver Daniel Ricciardo to the 13-mile track steeped on September 9 in motorsport tradition for demo runs at the energy drink company’s own showcase weekend.
The reigning world champion does want to give the Nordschleife a go but he was quickly shut down by the boss, Marko, when the topic came up in a meeting in June 2023.
“I wanted to do it but I wasn’t allowed by Helmut,” Verstappen revealed to the media. “He knew I would try to go to the limit.
“I would love to give it a go but you would need some proper tyres, not demo tyres which they don’t allow. I don’t want to start unnecessary issues.
“I heard this thing was coming up and Helmut was sitting at the table when it came up and he said ‘No, no you are not doing that’.”
A 24 Hour appearance?
Verstappen has raced around the virtual Nordschleife before in the iRacing 24 Hours of the Nurburgring but he is yet to get his first taste of the tarmac in real life.
The Red Bull superstar does want to try out the track by any means necessary and has his eyes on a GT3 drive if an F1 run wouldn’t be possible even with the risks of one of the most dangerous tracks in the world.
“It’s risky to drive here as well, you know, it all depends on how you hit the barrier,” Verstappen added. “Normally that’s not the plan though but hopefully one day [he gets to drive the track].
“Ideally it would have been amazing in an F1 car but if it’s not allowed then probably one day in a GT3 car.”
Where is the next F1 2023 race?
The next F1 race is the 2023 Austrian Grand Prix which will be second sprint weekend of the year, held at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg on June 30 to July 2.
