Max Verstappen has revealed that he recently held talks with Fernando Alonso about teaming up together for the upcoming 24hrs of LeMans race. The FIA World Endurance Championship event runs from June 15-June 16 next year – a week before the Spanish Grand Prix.
Many F1 drivers have expressed their interest in taking part in the event although no one has officially signed up yet. Carlos Sainz Jr said earlier this year that he and his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc are considering entering together.
“It was an incredible feat by the team. We are all very proud of what we achieved [winning the 24 hours of Le Mans],” he said in June. “We were talking about it, actually, whether we could race together in Le Mans – with Charles. I would do it. It’s just the calendar of F1 nowadays doesn’t allow much flexibility.”
But Verstappen didn’t name his Red Bull colleague Sergio Perez when listing off potential team-mates. The Dutchman is instead talking to Aston Martin’s Alonso about potentially joining his three-man team.
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Speaking at the 2023 Honda Racing Thanks Day event, Verstappen revealed that he’s discussed entering LeMans with his rival: “Le Mans, I would definitely like to do. I’ve been there already, when my dad used to race in Le Mans.
“The atmosphere is amazing in endurance – so many people, driving through the night, sunrise… I think it’s really cool… I’ve been speaking to Fernando about it. He’s said he would only want to do it again with me. So I said it would be really cool.
“The only thing is that for LeMans, it is the weight of the driver. I’m quite a heavy driver, so I’d need to find light teammates to compensate. Fernando is quite light, so it would be quite good. I just need to find another one, so I need to have a look.”
Alonso has competed at LeMans twice, winning on both occasions in 2018 and 2019 with Toyota Gazoo Racing. His teammates for the two races were Formula E star Sebastien Buemi and former Williams-Toyota driver Kazuki Nakajima.
