{"id":75790,"date":"2025-12-25T08:31:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-25T11:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/verstappens-gt-team-in-multi-year-mercedes-switch\/"},"modified":"2025-12-25T08:31:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-25T11:31:12","slug":"verstappens-gt-team-in-multi-year-mercedes-switch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/en\/verstappens-gt-team-in-multi-year-mercedes-switch\/","title":{"rendered":"Verstappen’s GT team in multi-year Mercedes switch"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Max Verstappen’s eponymous Verstappen.com Racing team has switched GT manufacturers to Mercedes as part of a multi-year deal.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The pair will then be joined by works Mercedes driver Jules Gounon for the Endurance Cup, which also consists of five rounds.<\/p>\n

The involvement of Gounon, who also represents Alpine in the WEC’s Hypercar class, automatically places the car in the Pro category.<\/p>\n

This move comes after Verstappen, whose 2025 campaign included a first major foray into GT racing, drove a Mercedes-AMG GT3 at Estoril<\/a> earlier this month as part of a programme operated by 2Seas in which he shared driving responsibilities with Gounon.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

That would be to prioritise his 2026 F1 campaign, as both the chassis and engine regulations are being overhauled.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n