F1 star to join Max Verstappen as GT3 debut race confirmed

Another Formula 1 driver is set to race a GT3 car alongside Max Verstappen later this month.

Verstappen competed in the second round of the Nurburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS) last month, racing in the #3 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 car.

Verstappen and team-mates Daniel Juncadella and Jules Gounon crossed the finish line in first place, winning by 56 seconds at the Nurburgring Nordschleife.

But they were subsequently disqualified after it was found that their team had used seven sets of tires instead of the mandatory maximum of six.

Regardless, Verstappen is scheduled to compete in the 24 Hours of Nurburgring, which takes place next month.

In preparation, the four-time Formula 1 champion will take on the Nordschleife again, and the cancellation of the Bahrain Grand Prix means he can take part in the third round of NLS on April 11.

Verstappen has driven GT3 cars on a number of occasions (Image: Getty)

Should his participation be confirmed, he will be joined in racing GT3 cars on that weekend by a second surprise F1 driver.

Aston Martin's Lance Stroll has entered the opening Endurance round of the GT World Challenge Europe, which takes place at Circuit Paul Ricard on April 11 and 12.

Paul Ricard formerly hosted F1 races intermittently between 1971 and 2022, with the sport returning after a 28-year absence in 2018 following track improvements.

He is set to drive the #18 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 car, alongside Mari Boya and former Manor F1 driver Roberto Merhi.

Lance Stroll is competing in the GT World Challenge Europe (Image: Getty)

Stroll is not the only high-profile name entered into the series, with record-breaking seven-time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi taking part in the Sprint Cup held on alternate weekends to the Endurance Cup.

Charles Leclerc's brother, Arthur, will drive the #50 Ferrari AF Corse entry in the Sprint Cup.

The endurance race will take place over six hours, and may provide Stroll with the perfect distraction to what has been a horror start to the F1 season for Aston Martin.

Power unit vibrations have caused major safety concerns for the wrists of drivers Stroll and Fernando Alonso, and prevented them from completing full race distances in Australia and China.

Alonso did complete the full race in Japan, albeit in 18th place, while Stroll retired on lap 30 due to a water pressure issue.

"[The car was] not great, but I was having a fun race with Fernando," he told F1TV's Lawrence Barretto.

"It's our own little championship, our Aston Martin championship. So I was enjoying the race, even though we were slow and fighting for the last positions."