Max Verstappen: Embracing Change, Eyeing GT Glory, and Pondering F1 Longevity
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Max Verstappen: Embracing Change, Eyeing GT Glory, and Pondering F1 Longevity
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About this listen
Max Verstappen has spent the past few days in a curious place between reset and reinvention. The most concrete step came with his confirmation that he will race with car number 3 in the 2026 Formula 1 season, handing the number 1 over to new world champion Lando Norris. Formula1.com reports that Verstappen, who first made his name with 33 before switching to 1 after his 2021 title, chose 3 as a long held personal preference and secured permission from both the FIA and retired former teammate Daniel Ricciardo. His own Verstappen.com channel underlined that this is a deliberate fresh chapter rather than a nostalgic return to 33, a symbolic move that will sit in every future biography as the post dynasty reset after his four title streak was broken by Norris by just two points.
On track, his week has not been quiet. Getty Images photo agencies captured Verstappen and his team testing a Ferrari GT3 at the Circuito do Estoril winter test in Portugal on December 17, a highly visible signal that his GT ambitions, particularly around long distance races, are no longer just paddock chatter. Pro Football Network reports that his public interest in tackling the Nürburgring 24 Hours has become forceful enough that the NLS organisers have discussed calendar tweaks to make his participation feasible, a sign of his growing influence beyond Formula 1 and a storyline that could reshape the next phase of his career.
In commentary terms, he has stayed in the news cycle. Motorsport.com reports that in a recent interview with Viaplay he expressed sympathy for Lewis Hamiltons struggles during a bleak 2025 campaign, saying he does not enjoy seeing a former rival in clear decline and stressing he himself has no intention of racing deep into his forties, remarks that feed long running speculation about a comparatively early Verstappen exit from F1. That retirement talk remains speculative he has made no firm commitment or date but every such quote is being logged and replayed by broadcasters and on social media as fans try to map out how long the Verstappen era will last.
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