Verstappen making moves into GT3 team ownership

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Reigning Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen has confirmed plans to enter a team into the 2025 GT3 championship, although he said that the plans are “still somewhat in its infancy”.

In an exclusive interview, Verstappen told Formule1.de magazine that the new team would be called Verstappen.com Racing and had its roots in his years of sim racing and his association with Team Redline.

“We will start in the GT3 class and then we will see where the ship lands up at some point," he continued, adding that the aim was to “sponsor and support various racing activities of people close to me."

"The ultimate goal is to set up our own racing team," Verstappen said. "We are now also active with Thierry Vermeulen in DTM and GTWC Sprint and with my father in rallying.

Dutch driver Vermeulen has been racing in DTM this year with Emil Frey Racing at the wheel of a Ferrari 296 GT3 and has been racing in the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup series.

Read also: Verstappen names most 'enjoyable' win so far in 2023

The 20-year-old's father and manager, Raymond Vermeulen, is also Verstappen’s manager, explaining the close links between the pair.

Although he's keen on his new project, Verstappen is wary about getting distracted from his day job, competing for world championships in Formula 1 with Red Bull Racing.

For that reason he's being cautious about how quickly his new venture will come together in practice.

“Next year is pretty tight, but I want it as soon as possible," he told the magazine. "A GT3 team in 2025, that should fit, with at least two cars.”

Verstappen is currently on a summer break from F1. he currently leads the drivers championship by 125 points from team mate Sergio Perez and looks in unstoppable form as he closes in on a third consecutive title.

There are just ten races remaining in the current season, which will resume with Verstappen's home race at Zandvoort in the Netherlands on August 27.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.