Verstappen's GT team in multi-year Mercedes switch
Max Verstappen's eponymous Verstappen.com Racing team has switched GT manufacturers to Mercedes as part of a multi-year deal.
The four-time Formula 1 world champion's team, the entry for which will be operated by 2Seas Motorsport, will compete in the GT World Challenge Europe with the Mercedes-AMG GT3 from 2026.
That marks a move away from the Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 it fielded this year, when simracing convert Chris Lulham (who alongside Verstappen won the NLS9 race on the Nurburgring Nordschleife in September in a Ferrari) and Thierry Vermeulen (the son of Verstappen's manager, Raymond) clinched the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup in the Gold Cup class.
For 2026, Lulham will be partnered in the five-round Sprint Cup by Aston Martin F1 simulator driver and Genesis World Endurance Championship signing Dani Juncadella.
The pair will then be joined by works Mercedes driver Jules Gounon for the Endurance Cup, which also consists of five rounds.
The involvement of Gounon, who also represents Alpine in the WEC's Hypercar class, automatically places the car in the Pro category.
This move comes after Verstappen, whose 2025 campaign included a first major foray into GT racing, drove a Mercedes-AMG GT3 at Estoril earlier this month as part of a programme operated by 2Seas in which he shared driving responsibilities with Gounon.
Though Verstappen, who is contracted to Red Bull in F1 until the end of 2028, has expressed interest in contesting the Nurburgring 24 Hours - a separate, standalone event that is not part of the GT World Challenge - following his Nordschleife win, it is thought likely he will postpone any entry.
That would be to prioritise his 2026 F1 campaign, as both the chassis and engine regulations are being overhauled.
Verstappen's Nordschleife win came in a Ferrari 296 GT3 run by Emil Frey Racing, rather than the Aston Martin his team campaigned in the GT World Challenge.
Were Verstappen to compete in the Nurburgring 24 Hours, rumours have suggested he would like to take on the race in a Porsche 911 GT3 R.