Laurent Mekies shares how he really felt about Max Verstappen racing at the Nordschleife

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Max Verstappen’s extra-curricular racing activities at the Nordschleife served up a new opportunity for him to display his skills in a different category of motorsport, and Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies has shared how he felt about his star driver seeking some extra competition.

Fresh off the back of his win at the Italian Grand Prix in September and instead of seeking out a rare weekend off in the midst of a busy F1 calendar, Verstappen made an appearance at the Nordschleife in hopes of securing the necessary permit to race GT3 cars on the iconic circuit.

Despite some hiccups, the appearance was a success, and Verstappen was able to enter his first GT3 race two weeks later.

The Dutchman stunned as he and his co-driver, Chris Lulham, won the race by over 20 seconds in a performance that was deemed ‘really unusual’ by the regular commentators.

READ MORE: Max Verstappen told he did something that was ‘almost impossible to explain’ in Nurburgring GT3 race

Laurent Mekies shares how he really felt about Max Verstappen racing GT3 cars at the Nurburgring

Speaking on a recent episode of the Talking Bull podcast, Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies was asked about how he felt about his star driver taking part in other forms of motorsport whilst in the midst of an ongoing Formula 1 campaign.

The GT3 venture began at a time when Verstappen was climbing his way back up the F1 standings, and started to pose a real risk to Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s title hopes.

On the topic, Mekies couldn’t have been happier for the 28-year-old, saying, “As a fan, it makes you feel good.

“I don’t know how you guys felt about it but as a pure motor racing fan, as a pure car fan, to see the guy jumping from a Formula 1 race, or actually jumping from back to back to back Formula 1 races and, on his free weekend, go and get his driving licence for the races he will do in GT3 is just unreal.”

Verstappen’s desire to secure the necessary licence to race at the ‘Green Hell’ was the first step to his long-standing ambition of competing in the illustrious Nurburgring 24 Hours endurance race.

Following his success in gaining the permit, Helmut Marko confirmed that Verstappen will take part in the event next year, which is set to take place in June, wedged between the Formula 1 weekends in Spain and Austria.

READ MORE: Max Verstappen’s Ferrari stance after winning at the Nurburgring in their GT3 car amid F1 links

Laurent Mekies also explained why Max Verstappen deserves more respect for his contributions to motorsport outside of F1

Mekies was also asked for his opinion on how sim racing is shaping the future of motorsport, as well as Verstappen’s effect on the popularity of it, given his passion as an avid sim-racer himself.

Mekies said, “That’s perhaps the scale of his contribution to the sport beyond Formula 1, and he deserves a huge amount of respect for that.

“That’s probably also broadening his legacy, and you’re right in saying that we have an access problem with the sport and sim racing is bridging that in an unbelievable way.

“There are not many simulation games that you can do that effectively, reproduce pretty much exactly the position of the real sport and the actions and the physics of the real sport, so it’s a huge opportunity for us as a sport.

“And having an ambassador, if you allow me to say, like Max being so involved in it, is a huge stroke of luck for the next generation.”

Gabriel Bortoleto has benefited from Verstappen’s sim-racing knowledge throughout his rookie season in the sport.

The two F1 drivers are reportedly good friends outside of the paddock, and Bortoleto previously revealed how the Dutchman helps him on circuits he doesn’t know by racing him on their personal simulators.