Clocking near-lap records at the Nürburgring in a Ferrari GT3 car, Helmut Marko may call Max Verstappen’s off-weekend antics a “great passion”, but for McLaren it would just be a “risk”.

Having qualified for his Permit A in the break between the Italian and Azerbaijan F1 grands prix, Verstappen contested his first GT3 race at the Nordschleife last weekend. And he won. Of course.

Max Verstappen is in a privileged position at Red Bull

Lining up third on the grid for a rolling start this past weekend, Verstappen made short work of the GT3 cars ahead, built up a 62-second lead and then handed the car over to his teammate Chris Lulham, who secured the victory.

Despite the reputation of the ‘green hell’, Red Bull supported Verstappen throughout it all.

“I think it’s great that a Formula 1 driver, who has many obligations besides racing – simulator, marketing and PR appointments – is still taking the time for something like this with such enthusiasm,” Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko told RTL.

“The Nürburgring and the Nordschleife are, of course, something that fascinates every racer.

“At a time when our car was not competitive, it was his great passion. Now both are working.”

But while Red Bull is willing to give its World Champion free rein to do what he needs so long as he does not neglect his Formula 1 commitments, other teams may not be so open to their drivers taking that risk.

And the Nordschleife is a risk.

Max Verstappen at the Nürburgring

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One person died in June this year at Schwedenkreuz, a fast left-hand bend, when the car went violently off the track at the corner. A 24-year-old man, one of the car’s occupants, was killed instantly at the scene, with two other passengers were seriously injured.

And that wasn’t even a race.

It had Bernie Collins asking her fellow Sky F1 pundits if Red Bull would change its stance if Verstappen was in the title fight against the McLaren teammates.

“I had one thought on this at home on the weekend. Obviously, over the winter, a lot of teams prevent drivers from going skiing or snowboarding or mountain biking or any of these things that could potentially injure themselves,” said the former Aston Martin strategist.

“Well, like it literally says on the pass, motorsport is dangerous. Like driving around the Nordschleife in a slower car.

“So, if he were racing for the world championship, if Red Bull were racing for the Constructors’ championship, it should be a slightly different decision.

“I think Max is a great driver, but it’s like any of us driving on the road at home. You can’t be responsible for the guys around you. A big accident could happen at any time. So it’s a risk, I don’t know if that’s the engineer in me talking.”

A risk that former F1 driver Chandhok believes McLaren would not take given both its drivers are in the title race.

“If it’s Oscar or Lando, absolutely, it’s not worth the risk,” he said.

“But, I think you also have to think of the characters. I think Fernando or a Max, they get energised by driving all the time.

“Again, it’s a bit like when people were saying about Lewis going to all these places and fashion shows, and Toto used to say, ‘Well, it’s what makes him happy and a happy Lewis is a faster Lewis.’

“And I think it’s just understanding who you’ve got and absolutely playing that risk-reward game.”

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