There’s a version of the near future where Max Verstappen isn’t a Formula 1 driver anymore, and he seems perfectly fine with that. The Red Bull Motorsports YouTube channel dropped a video this week showing Verstappen at Fuji Speedway for a fun challenge: jump into a Nissan Z NISMO GT500 and beat the lap time set by talented Super GT driver Atsushi Miyake.
Super GT is considered the fastest championship for grand touring cars in the world, with current GT500 machines capable of outpacing even the WEC’s hypercars over a typical lap around Fuji. This is a serious piece of machinery.
Driving at Fuji for the first time in wet conditions, Verstappen was given only a brief installation lap before beginning his flying runs in the 650-horsepower GT500 machine. Miyake was the first to head out, setting a tough benchmark time of 1:44.075 around the 4.5km circuit.
The conditions were deteriorating. The standing water was building. Verstappen stalled the car twice getting out of the pits. then he went to work.
Two Laps Was All It Took
Verstappen immediately adapted to the car, coming within a tenth of Miyake’s lap on his first timed effort before producing a 1:42.290s lap on his next attempt.
Host Jeremiah Burton could barely believe the performance as Verstappen smashed the target time after only two flying laps. “That’s insane!” Burton said during the run.
Verstappen’s was characteristically cool about the whole thing:
“It was getting a bit tricky to push,” he said. “My first lap, I was like, ‘I can do a bit better than that’, then I did a ’42. It was getting used to the car, how you go on throttle and braking. The steering is very different and feeling the grip of the tyres.”
OYAMA, JAPAN – MARCH 25: OYAMA, JAPAN – MARCH 25: Max Verstappen during previews ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Japan at Fuji International Speedway on March 25, 2026 in Oyama, Japan. (Photograph by Vladimir Rys) // SI202605070188 // Usage for editorial use only //
Miyake was left genuinely impressed, and was beautifully modest about it.
“Although it was unfortunately raining, I was still able to actually see how good he is, so I was really excited and had a great time.”
Last September, Verstappen gained the endurance racing licence he needed by competing in the Nürburgring Langstrecken Series in a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS, and two weeks later won on his GT3 debut driving a Ferrari 296 GT3.
Earlier this year he also returned to the Nordschleife aboard the Mercedes-AMG GT3 he is set to race at the 24-hour event, initially winning the four-hour race by 59.5 seconds before later being disqualified for exceeding the maximum tyre allocation.
OYAMA, JAPAN – MARCH 25: OYAMA, JAPAN – MARCH 25: Max Verstappen during previews ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Japan at Fuji International Speedway on March 25, 2026 in Oyama, Japan. (Photograph by Vladimir Rys) // SI202605070189 // Usage for editorial use only //
The Fuji session fits neatly into a pattern of a driver who is rapidly building a second career for when he leaves F1.
And about that first career…
Verstappen has a contract with Red Bull until 2028, but it’s understood there is a clause in the deal that allows him to leave earlier if he is not within the top two of the world championship by the summer break. Red Bull have been off the pace so far in 2026, leaving the four-time world champion down in seventh on 26 points, without a podium this year and 54 points adrift of the top two.
That clause could be looking mighty interesting to Verstappen right now.
Red Bull’s Piastri Plan Isn’t a Secret Anymore
According to a report from Motorsport.com, Red Bull has singled out Oscar Piastri as its preferred replacement for Verstappen should the four-time champion leave the team.
Team principal Laurent Mekies and Oliver Mintzlaff are reportedly ready to move forward with the Piastri plan in the unlikely yet plausible scenario of Verstappen switching teams, taking a sabbatical, or leaving F1 altogether.
Laurent Mekies is understood to be more open to targeting proven drivers from rival teams if necessary. And while Piastri remains under contract with McLaren until at least the end of 2027, and while the Woking-based squad sees him as a central part of its long-term project, he’s thought to be part of the plan at Milton Keynes.
Red Bull can plan for Piastri all it wants. Verstappen is out here beating Super GT professionals in the rain, on a circuit he’d never seen before, in a car he’d barely sat in. He’ll land on his feet.
