Le Mans Can Wait
Max Verstappen just closed a door. Asked about his 2027 plans outside Formula 1, the four-time world champion ruled out the 24 Hours of Le Mans without hesitation.
“Nurburgring and Spa, probably. Le Mans, not. That’s not on my list for now,” he said, tying the decision directly to how the dates collide with his grand prix calendar.
The clash is unavoidable. Le Mans 2027 runs June 12-13, wedged between the Monaco and Portugal grands prix. Squeeze a race with a 24-hour toll on the body into that gap, and something in the F1 season breaks.
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Spa Gets the Green Light, Le Mans Doesn’t
Verstappen isn’t done with endurance racing altogether. He called a Spa-Francorchamps debut “an exciting option,” a race that sits easier on the calendar than a trip to France in the middle of June.
His history with these events isn’t spotless. He withdrew from this year’s Nurburgring 24 Hours after a driveshaft failure ended his race while he was leading, the kind of result that makes a driver think twice before overcommitting to another marathon outside the cockpit he’s paid to race.
He’s not the only current grid regular with one eye on endurance racing’s biggest stage. Lando Norris says he’d “like to do it in the future” without locking anything in. Fernando Alonso, already a two-time Le Mans winner, keeps making noise about going back for a third. The appetite is there across the paddock. The scheduling rarely cooperates.
A Calendar That Doesn’t Bend
Verstappen carries four world championships and no shortage of outside interests pulling at his time, from karting exhibitions to sim racing leagues. Le Mans will have to wait for a year when the dates actually line up, if that year ever comes around during his F1 career.
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