The Dutch pilot said he had the desire to venture into drag racing in the futurebut admitted that he was focusing on the . The Dutchman took part in Honda's 'Hybrid Heroes' celebration on Tuesday in the day leading up to the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix, where he had his first contact with a GTP car, driving an Acura ARX-06.
With the advice of who participates with the Meyer Shank Racing in IMSAdrove for almost half an hour on a route of just over a kilometer. During an interview with a select group of media, he asked Max Verstappen on whether this opportunity opened the door for him to race in the American classic: “It's not about making fun of me or anything, I know I want to do it in the future anyway , but it's just about finding the moment.”
“With such a tight Formula 1 calendar, it's almost impossible, because we finished so late in the season, and then you have to prepare properly for Daytona or whatever, so it's almost impossible,” he said. -he continued. “I know that when I want to do it, I want to go out there and try to win, to be competitive, and the only way to do that is to train properly and prepare very well, which is not possible now, but who knows, maybe in a few years I will still be young and I will be able to drive cars.
The President of Honda Racing Corporation, David Salterssaid that Max Verstappen will always have the opportunity to be in the : “I think for Max Verstappen the door is always open, it's Max Verstappen. He's already one of the best racing drivers of all time, let's see what he can achieve.”
“We have a very good relationship with Max, we will see what happens, but he is a very busy person, although the door is always open for him,” he told Motorsport.com.
THE The Dutchman's only sensation with a GTP was in a simulatorwhich made it possible to limit a steep initial learning curve: “To get a first idea here, there are quite a few low-speed turns. The car comes to life at higher speeds, which was more in the last area of the track, but it was very good, I drove these cars a bit in simulators, although to get a first impression in the real life, it was great.
The Dutchman stressed that “It was completely natural” to get behind the wheel for the first timebut that the cold forced him to spend more time warming the tires to an optimal temperature: “I was trying to find the limits step by step without going too far, because it's not at all necessary, and I have a little fun there.”
When asked about the desire to run in the stressed that it was a challenge with the demands of the current Grand Cirque calendar: “Yes, but I think that at the moment it is very difficult to combine with Formula 1, especially with everything that is becoming more and more more competitive, you I can't divide my time between Formula 1 and a GTP. At least for me, when I participate in something, I have to be well prepared.
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