How Helmut Marko feels about Max Verstappen skipping F1 races for Red Bull to compete in GT3 events

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Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen proved he could be one of the most well-rounded stars in motorsport in the build-up to the Singapore Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen earned his Nordschleife license after winning in Monza, and followed up his victory at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix by making his competitive GT3 debut.

The Red Bull star now heads to the Singapore Grand Prix as a winner in the Nurburgring Langstrecken-Serie championship, celebrating his 28th birthday with yet another victory to add to his glistening CV.

Alongside Chris Lulham, Verstappen won the four-hour event by 24 seconds.

Verstappen’s ‘Plan A’ is to expand his endurance racing programme in the future, but whether he’s going to be able to do that alongside Formula 1 is another matter.

Red Bull have been able to afford Verstappen more flexibility this season, as winning the drivers’ championship has been unrealistic for some time.

Back-to-back wins have suddenly put the Dutchman back in the frame, but with a regulation change on the horizon and no guarantees that Red Bull will still be competitive, Helmut Marko and Laurent Mekies might have to find other ways to convince Verstappen to stay with the team.

Journalist Matt Beer has been speaking about Red Bull’s plans for the 28-year-old and how they feel about letting him concentrate more on his GT3 and endurance aspirations.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Helmut Marko would not let Max Verstappen skip Formula 1 races for endurance events

Beer was speaking on The Race F1 Podcast about Verstappen’s hopes beyond Formula 1 and said: “It was notable in Baku when he was talking about all this after his first race.

“He was very clear that Helmut Marko, the very influential Red Bull motorsport adviser, is right behind him on this.

“Marko’s greatest career achievements in his own racing days were in sports car racing.

“So, he’s like, yeah, Helmut knows endurance, he loves it too, he’s really up for this as well.

“So I doubt that would extend to even Helmut Marko saying, yes, skip a couple of Grand Prix, even if Red Bull does struggle next year.

“And Max himself was very clear in saying, I don’t know what 2026 will look like for the new rules, my team or whatever.

“Before he commits to Nurburgring next year, he wants to see what’s required of him in F1 in terms of focus as much as anything else.

“But yeah, you don’t get the impression Red Bull will stand in the way of anything much here.”

READ MORE: Who is Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko? Everything to know

Which World Endurance Championship events could Max Verstappen compete in next season?

The ultimate goal for Verstappen has to be to compete in the World Endurance Championship, although this is a significant step up from what he experienced at the Nordschleife last weekend.

Marko has already ruled out Verstappen racing at Le Mans, which would take place on the same weekend as the Spanish Grand Prix.

There are seven other rounds aside from Le Mans, including the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps at Verstappen’s favourite Formula 1 circuit.

That race falls in the gap between Miami and Montreal, while he could break up the European section of the 2026 F1 season by travelling to Sao Paulo for the fifth round of the championship in July.

The suggestion that Verstappen doesn’t want to spend the rest of his racing career in Formula 1 makes a lot of sense.

When he pulls the trigger and gives up on trying to win any more F1 championships, it’s one of the fascinating stories rumbling on in the background in the paddock right now.

But it’s hard to see him trying to match Fernando Alonso or Lewis Hamilton’s F1 careers, given his other motoring ambitions.