Mercedes Formula 1 driver Kimi Antonelli has expressed a desire to team up with Max Verstappen for an endurance race, revealing he has already asked for a Nordschleife test.
Antonelli’s family has strong ties to sportscar racing, with his father Marco an accomplished driver in his own right with decades of experience in GT and TCR machinery.
The 19-year-old has himself shown inclination towards this form of motorsport and contested an Italian GT round with his family-run AKM Motorsport team in 2023, scoring a pole position and a victory at Misano on his debut.
There has been renewed interest among F1 drivers to explore sportscar racing following the news that Red Bull star Verstappen will tackle the Nurburgring 24 Hours for the first time this year, driving a Mercedes-AMG GT3 run by Winward Racing.
While Antonelli’s primary focus lies in F1, where he became a first-time race winner at the Chinese Grand Prix, the 19-year-old said he would welcome an opportunity to share a cockpit with his F1 rival Verstappen.
“I would love to do an endurance race with Max together,” Antonelli said in Shanghai. “I think that would be pretty awesome. It’s cool because we both have passion for GTs. Obviously, on my side, it came from my dad with the GT team.
“Occasionally, I go and test when I can, and obviously, Max as well has been really enjoying it. It’s really cool for him to do the 24 hours of Nurburgring. I think it’s going to be a really cool event, and definitely I’ll be watching it.
“It’s something that in the future I would really like to do, to race with him in an endurance race.
“I think it would be a really cool pair and it will be a really cool experience, but it’s something that I’ve been considering as well.
“I’ve already asked for a test at the Nordschleife, for example, because it’s a track that I love, and I would love to be able to try it in the real world as well.”
#3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing, Mercedes AMG GT3 EVO: Max Verstappen, Daniel Juncadella, Jules Gounon
Photo by: Max Verstappen
Although Verstappen drives for Mercedes’ rival Red Bull in F1, the four-time world champion has joined forces with the German manufacturer for his sportscar racing exploits this year.
While he made his Nordschleife debut at the wheel of a Ferrari 296 GT3 last year, he will switch to the venerable Mercedes-AMG GT3 for his two planned outings at the legendary German venue this year, including the Nurburgring 24 Hours debut on 14-17 May.
This partnership could thus enable a future tie-up with Antonelli, who rose through the ranks as a Mercedes F1 junior and is now part of its grand prix team.
Verstappen was full of praise for Antonelli following the latter’s maiden win in F1, saying the teen has a bright future in the series.
“It is fantastic, but I’m of course not surprised,” he said. “This was definitely coming, and it won’t be his last one.”
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