Kerkhof: 'Verstappen would perform perfectly in endurance racing'

Kerkhof thinks Max Verstappen is easily among the top three in the world when it comes to sim racing. When asked if he also peaks like this at a virtual endurance race like Le Mans, the manager replies that he does: “The level is high in these Le Mans races, the drivers are absolutely superstars. But, Max is a superstar on his own and he will have no problems at all adapting to a car like that. In fact I think he would nail it perfectly.”

Team player

Everyone knows that behind a successful driver is a successful team, one cannot do without the other. At Red Bull, this is also the case - Verstappen's work ethic coupled with his good cooperation with the team have already won him two world championships. Kerkhof thinks this team aspect also plays an important role in Verstappen's love for endurance: “What he likes about endurance racing with Team Redline is working together with his teammates. He really enjoys that, it’s more the team thing, having each other’s backs, helping each other out.”

Pure racing

“Max always talks about karting because it was so pure and I think endurance is [his] next step after Formula 1 for very pure racing,” said the Team Redline manager. Unlike F1, Verstappen has more freedom in the settings of his car in endurance racing, rather than everything being simulated in advance by the engineer.