Max Verstappen To Race Ferrari As Official Debut Confirmed

Max Verstappen will race a Ferrari for the first time this weekend - adding his name to a short list of current F1 drivers to compete elsewhere mid-season.

The Dutchman went viral two weekends ago when he drove a detuned Porsche Cayman GT4 car around Germany's Nurburgring circuit.

Verstappen took part in order to earn his GT3 racing licence, enabling him to compete in sanctioned races.

He will now make his official debut this weekend in the Nurburgring Endurance Series, driving an Emil Frey Ferrari 296 alongside British racer Chris Lulham.

The four-hour race will take place at the notorious Nurburgring Nordschleife, which spans 12.9 miles.

It is rare for a current driver to take on racing commitments outside of F1 during the season.

Fernando Alonso missed the Monaco Grand Prix in 2018 to race for McLaren in the Indy 500.

There is no Grand Prix scheduled for this week, with Verstappen opting to use his blank weekend to test himself in endurance racing.

His main aim is to take part in next year's Nurburgring 24 Hours, one of the most prestigious races in the sport.

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko revealed in Baku that the team have already permitted Verstappen to race, as it again does not clash with an F1 Grand Prix.

His path towards GT3, however, has again raised further questions over the four-time world champion's long-term future in F1.

And even the 27-year-old himself doesn't yet know what that future holds.

Speaking in a press release about his entry, Verstappen said: "It's my hobby to race in other categories than Formula 1.

"My dream is to eventually participate in the 24-hour race at the Nurburgring Nordschleife.

"The Nordschleife is at the top of my list of tracks I want to race on, as it extremely challenging and demanding, with its enormous length and tight historic layout."