Verstappen amazes DTM team boss during test: 'Max is on another level'

Max Verstappen has kept himself busy over the winter period byswapping his Formula 1 car for DTM in Portugal. The three-time F1World Champion did the test in a Ferrari 296 GT3 car along withThierry Vermeulen, the son of Verstappen's manager RaymondVermeulen. For two days they drove laps around AlgarveInternational Circuit in Portimao, ahead of the 2024 season. "Thegoal of the test with Max was to support Thierry and improve ourperformance using Max's feedback," said Team Boss Frey-Hilti saysagainst the German Motorsport-Total . "Max has been in the car onboth days. On the first day they alternated and drove about 100kilometers. We've tried a lot of different things. It was an honorthat we could use his services and test as a racing team with him.That was really brilliant." Verstappen showcases world classVermeulen enters the DTM class for Emil Frey Racing in 2024, andwill drive in the colours of Verstappen.COM Racing. It's also nocoincidence, as the Dutchman is coached by Verstappen's father, JosVerstappen. Frey-Hilti was impressed by the skills of Verstappen atthe wheel of the GT3 car, but also noted his personality off track."It's always interesting to meet a well-known person. You think youknow that person, but if you meet him in real life, you experiencea completely different person," he added. "It's wonderful to seehow much passion he has for motorsport and what he has achieved.Even in a GT3 car, his feedback was of a very different level thananything I had seen before. He is world class." Given thedifference in performance between an F1 and a GT3 car, you wouldexpect it would take a while for Verstappen to get up to speed. Butit was not a problem for the Dutchman, who managed to showcase hisraw speed from the start. "He crawled behind the wheel and in thefirst flying lap he was right there. If you look at the onboardimages and the data, it's very impressive how he handles the car,how quickly he adapts and always squests the maximum out of it.""There were also other GT3 cars that day, but I can only say thatVerstappen was driving on a different level than the rest. Thereare good drivers who cannot shine in a GT3 car due to a lack ofexperience, but Max is different. If something has four wheels,then it's fast in. "In terms of car development, he's brilliant.The car is different from an F1 car, but physics works the sameeverywhere. Max' input helps a lot when we test different settings.This helps Thierry and the team a lot."