Max Verstappen is open to racing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans after he revealed that Fernando Alonso has reached out to him regarding a potential future appearance in the event.
Triple F1 world champion Max Verstappen is likely to attempt to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans given his passion for endurance racing as the Dutchman wishes to race alongside Fernando Alonso.
The famous endurance race is held overnight at the Circuit de la Sarthe in France. It marked its centennial celebration earlier this year with a historic victory by Ferrari in their debut season.
Double Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso participated in endurance racing while on a sabbatical from the sport. He went on to win the World Endurance Championship and Le Mans twice in 2018 and 2019.
Even though the Spaniard continues to race in Formula 1, he does not rule out returning to the French endurance classic.
“I may go. I did the endurance world championship and Formula 1 world championship,” Alonso said. “I think both championships, so why not one race only?”
Verstappen made a suggestion that he would like to compete in the event in the future, maybe even teaming up with his F1 rival. He claimed that Alonso has been expressing interest in working with him on the venture, claiming that Alonso will only return if it is with him.
“What I do want to race is the 24 Hours of Le Mans,” Verstappen said. “I have already been there when my father [Jos] raced in Le Mans.
“The atmosphere is incredible in Resistencia. There are so many people, driving at night, at dawn – I think it’s really cool.
“I’ve been talking to Fernando [Alonso] about it. He said he’d just want to do it with me again, so I told him it would be great.
“The only thing is, for Le Mans, there’s no minimum weight for the driver. I’m quite a heavy competitor, so I would have to find light teammates to compensate.
“But Fernando is quite light so that would be very good for us. But we would need to find another one.”
The subject of Verstappen and Alonso racing together in the 24 Hours of Le Mans has been raised previously after Verstappen revealed the idea in an interview late last year.
“I think Fernando will never stop racing,” Verstappen said. “He is probably a little different to me in that sense with the age, but who knows.
“We need to have a good opportunity. If Fernando goes, he wants to challenge for the win in a competitive car. And I am exactly the same.
“That is also why I don’t want to rush the whole project, just because there are so many changes happening at the moment in endurance.
“I think it is better to wait and see what is exactly happening now and to see how it’s going to progress, and then make your mind up. I am not in a hurry.”
Verstappen, however, stated that, in contrast to Alonso, he finds the thought of participating in Le Mans unlikely given his active F1 career. Verstappen’s F1 career is scheduled to last until at least 2028, when his current Red Bull contract expires.
“Not really. I don’t think I want to do that, because you want to focus on one thing fully,” he explained.
“And when you start combining stuff and you can only do one race, you’re not really well prepared.”
Verstappen easily won 19 of the 22 races this year to secure his third consecutive world championship, while Alonso made a successful comeback, placing fourth in the drivers’ standings and securing eight podium finishes during his first season with Aston Martin.
