Max Verstappen has expressed curiosity in racing in Tremendous GT, however admits the dearth of a real blue riband occasion makes a visitor look troublesome to justify.
The four-time System 1 champion turned his first laps in a Nissan Z GT500 automobile at Fuji Speedway on final month, as a part of a promotional shoot organised by his employer Pink Bull.
It marked solely his second in a up to date Tremendous GT prototype following an preliminary outing behind the wheel of a Honda NSX-GT at Motegi in 2022 in the course of the Japanese producer’s end-of -season occasion.
Tremendous GT is taken into account the quickest championship for grand touring automobiles on this planet, with present GT500 machines able to outpacing even the World Endurance Championship’s hypercars over a typical lap round Fuji.
Verstappen mentioned he relished his expertise aboard the Nissan Z, whilst heavy rain left the observe moist and restricted his operating round Fuji.
“It was quite a lot of enjoyable,” the 28-year-old mentioned on the eve of the Japanese GP. “Only a disgrace that it was raining fairly a bit, so I could not do this many laps. I might have preferred to do extra laps.
“But it surely’s a incredible automobile, a incredible class normally, and it was an excellent expertise for me to drive that automobile, and in addition really feel the grip within the moist.
“It is fairly completely different to what we’ve in Europe.
“Simply with the ability to drive so many alternative automobiles is at all times a superb factor.”
Verstappen has more and more been exploring alternatives in sportscar racing, partly as a result of his dislike of present System 1 hybrids, and not too long ago contested the NLS2 on the Nurburgring Nordschleife in a Mercedes-AMG GT3.
Whereas he’s open to the prospect of racing GT500 machines, that are considerably extra superior than road-based GT3 automobiles, he pointed to Tremendous GT’s format as a key impediment.
Requested whether or not he would contemplate getting into a Tremendous GT race, Verstappen mentioned: “Who is aware of, I have to see.
“It is an excellent class. I want that they had a bit extra of a standout one race, as an alternative of only a championship. If that may be the case, it is simpler to commit to 1; I can not do a complete championship. And to do one race in a championship generally can also be not the best factor. So, we’ll see.
“I might like to race these automobiles. It actually jogs my memory of how the outdated DTM [Class 1] automobiles was, and that is what you additionally actually preferred watching.”
Why Tremendous GT lacks a standout race
#16 Staff Mugen Honda NSX-GT: Hideki Mutoh, Daisuke Nakajima, Jenson Button
Verstappen’s feedback at Suzuka spotlight a serious hole in Tremendous GT’s present construction. The 2026 season calendar options eight races throughout seven venues, however there’s restricted differentiation between these occasions.
Six of the eight races are run over 300km, the identical distance as a grand prix, whereas two endurance rounds are timed to 3 hours. The Sepang spherical stands out naturally as the one abroad race on the calendar, whereas the Fuji GT 3 Hours is the sequence’ de facto showpiece, as it’s scheduled to coincide with the Golden Week vacation season.
Nonetheless, the sequence beforehand boasted a real marque occasion that attracted a number of high-profile names to the championship, not least 2009 F1 champion Jenson Button.
Conceived as a standalone race in 1966, the Suzuka 1000km grew into a serious endurance fixture, becoming a member of a number of worldwide championships together with the World Sportscar Championship and the FIA GT Championship. By the point it turned a Tremendous GT spherical in 2006, it was already a longtime occasion, and it helped the sequence attain new heights.
On account of its endurance format, Tremendous GT groups had been allowed to discipline an extra third driver, which paved the way in which for a number of new entrants into the championship. In its early years, the Suzuka 1000 attracted the likes of future System 1 driver Adrian Sutil and present sportscar veteran Oliver Jarvis, and the pattern carried on.
However maybe essentially the most well-known title to enter Tremendous GT by way of the Suzuka 1000km route is Button. After stepping away from F1 with McLaren, the Briton entered the 2017 Suzuka 8 Hours, becoming a member of the Mugen Honda workforce as its designated third driver.
The race hardly went his method and he completed a distant twelfth, however the expertise bought him hooked on Tremendous GT and he signed a two-year take care of Honda to race within the championship full-time. Button would go on to win the title along with his team-mate Naoki Yamamoto in 2018, including a GT500 title to his earlier success in F1.
Nonetheless, this pathway to Tremendous GT was basically shut in 2018 when sequence’ promoter GTA joined forces with SRO to launch the Suzuka 10 Hours, a brand new endurance occasion as a part of the Intercontinental GT Problem.
The brand new 10-hour fixture turned Suzuka’s sole ‘Summer season Endurance Race’, shifting the highlight away from Tremendous GT and leaving the Fuji Golden Week spherical because the championship’s de facto headline occasion. With the Suzuka 10 Hours, the promoters aimed for a full-blown worldwide occasion with a powerful Japanese identification. However whereas groups competing in Tremendous GT’s GT300 class had been inspired to participate, the format excluded GT500 equipment totally, leaving no chance of top-level manufacturing unit involvement.
The Suzuka 1000km title nonetheless carries vital worth, and SRO revived the format final yr when Japan returned to the IGTC calendar. On this event, Tremendous GT’s GTA-GT300 spec automobiles had been allowed to compete alongside GT3 equipment, with efficiency balanced between the 2 courses. Tremendous GT, alternatively, has continued to prioritise worldwide growth. In 2025, it efficiently managed to deliver again Sepang to the calendar after a protracted absence, with the occasion instantly proving to be a hit. Tremendous GT has additionally beforehand forayed into Thailand, and each Sepang and Buriram had been on the unique 2020 calendar earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the schedule and compelled the championship to race completely in Japan for the following 5 years.
Might Max Verstappen nonetheless enter Tremendous GT one way or the other?
Begin motion（GT500）
Picture by: Masahide Kamio
One avenue stays open for Verstappen, ought to he be critical about making a Tremendous GT look.
Following Sepang’s return to the calendar final yr, organisers floated the concept of a wildcard GT500 entry in 2026. At the moment, the mission was described as a ‘work in progress’, with no producer dedicated to supplying or operating a automobile.
Such an entry might, in concept, permit Verstappen to compete at Sepang on 20-21 June, within the brief hole between the F1 races in Barcelona and Spielberg. Nonetheless, the wildcard idea is primarily aimed toward selling Malaysian expertise, which means any involvement from Verstappen would doubtless rely on exterior backing – probably from Pink Bull.
Any wildcard programme, with or with out Verstappen, would additionally have to safe cooperation from one of many three GT500 producers in Tremendous GT (Honda, Nissan and Toyota) to produce and run the automobile. Nissan could have some capability after scaling again its GT500 programme from 4 to 3 automobiles this yr as a result of monetary points. Notably, Nissan was additionally Pink Bull’s producer of alternative for Verstappen’s check outing at Fuji.
Finally, any participation in Tremendous GT might hinge on Verstappen’s long-term future in F1. The structure of the Suzuka Circuit exposes the shortcomings of the present hybrid bundle, with drivers dropping as a lot as 50km/h on 130R as a result of tremendous clipping.
Suzuka is often a favorite amongst drivers, so the truth that Verstappen could not get pleasure from it as a lot as he would have preferred was mirrored in his feedback. The Dutchman admitted that he has some “life” selections to make, as his discontent with F1 grows.
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Whereas he could appear resigned by the scenario, he’s additionally working intently with F1 and the FIA to refine the rules. It is unclear what can be the result of these talks, and if the current-generation of automobiles will be suitably modified to his liking for Verstappen to see out his contract with Pink Bull.
Even when he stays in F1 subsequent yr, chances are high Verstappen can be racing sportscars greater than ever, and it will be exhausting for him to withstand the attract of Tremendous GT.
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