Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen says that Fernando Alonso has an interest in teaming up with him at the Le Mans 24 Hours in the future.
Verstappen attended the annual Honda Thanks Day celebration event at Motegi along with team mate Sergio Perez, AlphaTauri drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda, two-times Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato and many Moto GP riders including Marc Marquez.Answering questions from fans at the event while watching Sato demonstrate his 2020 Indy 500 winning car, Verstappen was asked if he would consider racing in the IndyCar series in the future.
“I like to watch it,” he said. “I have a lot of respect for what they do, but I don’t think I’d be participating.”
The Red Bull driver said there were many cars and racing series that he would consider driving or competing in the future, including the Le Mans 24 Hours.
“For sure I would like to try a MotoGP bike, Verstappen said. “I enjoy SuperGT. I got to try one last year, which was very nice. The Super Formula cars, they’re very nice. It’s the fastest car below Formula 1, they look great.
“But Le Mans, I would definitely like to do. I’ve been there already, when my dad used to race in Le Mans. The atmosphere is amazing in endurance – so many people, driving through the night, sunrise… I think it’s really cool.”
Asked what his ideal team of co-drivers would be, Verstappen said that Aston Martin driver Alonso – who won the Le Mans 24 Hours twice with Toyota – had expressed an interest in racing the marquee endurance event with him.
“I’ve been speaking to Fernando about it,” Verstappen said. “He said he would only want to do it with me again. So I said ‘that would be really cool’.
“The only thing is that, for Le Mans, there is not like a minimum weight for the driver. I’m quite a heavy driver, so I’d need to find light team mates to compensate. But Fernando is quite light, so it would be quite good. But we’d need to find another one, so I need to have a look.”
Verstappen is contracted as a Red Bull driver in Formula 1 until the end of the 2028 season.
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floodo1 (@floodo1)
3rd December 2023, 14:24
Imagine being as lean as Verstappen and still being “heavy” for a driver!
anon
3rd December 2023, 15:13
@floodo1 the comments about driver weight seems a bit odd though – back in 2015, the ACO introduced a minimum weight for the driver and seat ballast at 80kg, with the requirement that any driver below that weight would have ballast added to reach that 80kg minimum. Is that rule not still in effect and therefore would mean that it’s not really worthwhile looking for a light driver if they’d have to then be ballasted up to that minimum requirement of 80kg?
Matthijs (@matthijs)
4th December 2023, 8:19
Yes but he is tall
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
3rd December 2023, 14:50
I said after his first title win that I would love to see him branch out and set records in other motorsports.
He is young enough to create one heck of a legacy that would be tough to beat by future drivers.
Good to know he is considering branching out rather than just sit now in F1 forever.
Ben
3rd December 2023, 15:13
He’ll be unlikely to win anything in the WEC series. He doesn’t have the patience needed and his often dangerous wheel to wheel “racing” would actually be punished.
Coventry Climax
3rd December 2023, 15:34
..sigh..
SteveR (@stever)
3rd December 2023, 17:03
+1
Ben
3rd December 2023, 17:52
Lots of simulator talk, but LeMans isnt a game. Verstappen probably plays some F1 games and does
ok, but he is still a hot head in real world racing. Like I said, wrong temperament for WEC and he won’t have a race car 1+ seconds a lap quicker either. With the current entry list he’s unlikely to get guaranteed win or a team throwing him a publicity win like Alonso. I maintain he’d have no chance.
BamBoomBots
3rd December 2023, 18:23
You are aware that he often competes in endurance sim-racing, including 24h Le mans simulations, and his performances there tend to be second to none?
I’d say he’d be one of the best F1-drivers for WEC racing, because he seems to be so at ease in a car while racing. The hot-headed days are long behind us.
SteveR (@stever)
3rd December 2023, 19:40
Agreed. He’s really matured recently and drives well within the limits of the car. It’s been interesting to see how well he’s observed track limits compared to Perez and some others; I suspect he could be well over thirty seconds ahead if he pushed. His radio communications include relaxed jokes, not stress. I think he would do very well in endurance races with a demonstrated ability to stick to lap times as required.
Dex
3rd December 2023, 20:16
With your experience in racing, I’m sure that Verstappen can learn a lot from your words. I mean… Lol.
SteveR (@stever)
4th December 2023, 1:22
@Dex. I’m curious, what do you know about my racing experience? I raced FF1600 and FF2000 in SCCA Nationals and qualified for the SCCA run-offs in Atlanta in FF2000. I ran a race prep shop, maintained open wheel and sports racer cars, ran rental FF1600 cars, and built engines and gearboxes. I imported cars and parts from England and made a few trips there to do so. What’s your expertise?
Matthijs (@matthijs)
4th December 2023, 8:18
@stever I think that Dex was replying to Ben, not you.
Ferdinand
3rd December 2023, 15:57
Au contraire, through his simulator skill level he is very well equipped to do this. He can easily switch between cars and be comfortabel right away. His wheel to wheel skills are also above average, partly also because of the many training hours he makes on simulators, despite they may have not been trained in the most recent F1 season. In his F1 seasons before I am of the opinion it were rather some he battled with who couldn’t handle his level. It does take two to tango. Luckily others do know how to properly go wheel to wheel as he often demonstrated with the likes of Leclerc and Alonso. Anyway, back to the subject: these two would make quite the team to beat. Bring it!
JV
3rd December 2023, 15:58
Pretty sure he’d be able to adapt, he’s a very experienced racing driver at this point. And he has a lot of experience in the sim in endurance racing, taking months to prepare for those the best he can.
Alex
3rd December 2023, 16:52
Yup. He has the patience to train for and complete endurance races at elite level in simulated racing as a hobby; clearly, he’d have the patience to train for and complete endurance races in real life if he were in an actual championship.
Matthijs (@matthijs)
4th December 2023, 8:18
Let’s stay close to the facts and let’s not get personal. Yes Verstappen has a track record of being (overly) aggressive, especially when the stakes are high. But in Le Mans it is playing the long game, driving at 95 percent of your capacity. Verstappen has proven that he can do that too in many races this year, both in F1 as in sim racing.
Olivier
3rd December 2023, 18:50
Ask Lando Norris, Max!
I think Alonso and Lando already have been team mates in an endurance race.
Max, Alonso, and Lando for the Le Mans win!!
Matthijs (@matthijs)
4th December 2023, 8:18
Now that would be awesome
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
4th December 2023, 9:56
Good grief – I might even consider dusting off my old tent and sleeping bag to go and experience that live!
Nick T.
4th December 2023, 23:01
It’d be a huge fan draw to see them utterly smash the competition.
Picasso 1.9D FTW (@picasso-19d-ftw)
3rd December 2023, 19:36
LH44. The dream team*
* I’m not going to point out that I’m being mischievous
Shimks (@shimks)
3rd December 2023, 21:30
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. ;)
Illusive (@illusive)
4th December 2023, 7:15
That would be quite an event though however unlikely it is.
GechiChan (@gechichan)
4th December 2023, 7:55
Just get Lando in the 3rd seat, he’s light enough. Or Leclerc.
The only problem would be their contracts that tie them to a certain manufacturer, obviously they wouldn’t be able to race for a works team like Toyota or Ferrari (except for Charles).
Free_B
5th December 2023, 1:59
Hear me out on this…
There wouldn’t really be a brand issue if the car was the Aston Martin Valkyrie. It’s Newey-designed (Max) and AM branded (Fernando). The logical third driver options would be Checo or Lance (obviously kidding about the latter). Given that McLaren is making a return Lando and Oscar (too young I think) are out. The Ferrari boys are obviously out. Merc could allow the orthogonal relationship with Aston to make way for one of their drivers: don’t know if Lewis or George has the appetite. But a better fit might be Alex Albon
VINICIUS BEVILAQUA NEVES
6th December 2023, 9:38
I hope the other driver is Hamilton, that would be unforgettable.