Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have been upstaged.

Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have been upstaged (Image: Getty)

Max Verstappen became the most recent driver to win a full-distance race in Ferrari machinery when he took the chequered flag first on debut in the Nordschleife Langstrecken-Serie last weekend. This honour was previously held not by the incumbent duo Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, but by Carlos Sainz.

The experienced Spaniard scored his fourth and most recent Grand Prix victory in Mexico City last year, holding off a late charge from Lando Norris to climb to the top step of the podium. Since then, Ferrari have struggled. Leclerc has five top-three finishes to his name in 2025, while team-mate Hamilton is still waiting for his first trip to the rostrum with his new team. Worse still, Fred Vasseur’s squad dropped to third in the Constructors’ Championship standings after George Russell’s heroics at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last time out.

Verstappen’s taste of Ferrari glory came in the Italian auto manufacturer’s 296 GT3 car at the legendary Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit in Germany. The Dutchman teamed up with British racer Chris Lulham to represent Emil Frey Racing at the four-hour event.

The reigning Formula One world champion started the race from third on the grid, but was leading the field by the first corner. From there, he stretched out an advantage of over a minute before the end of his stint. Lulham, who competes for Verstappen’s GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup team, then converted that into victory.

Max Verstappen won in the NLS last weekend (Image: Getty)

“The first two stints went really well, the car worked perfectly in the dry,” Verstappen said. “We had a bit of bad luck in qualifying, but in the race, everything with the traffic worked out fine. I think I didn’t make any major mistakes in those two stints. And to win here on my very first attempt, that’s just fantastic.”

He added: “Of course, I would really like to compete in the 24 Hours at some point. If it happens next year, I’ll say so – but we still need more experience. That’s the way it is, so hopefully we’ll do more races here next year.”

Now, Verstappen’s attention turns back to his F1 title defence. After the summer break, the Red Bull star’s World Championship aspirations appeared dead in the water, but after notching back-to-back Grand Prix victories, the deficit to series leader Oscar Piastri has been cut to 69 points with seven races remaining.

When asked about his driver’s chances, Red Bull chief Helmut Marko explained that this weekend’s race in Singapore will decide whether or not Verstappen emerges as a true championship contender over the course of the final six Grands Prix.