Max Verstappen Receives Open Invitation for Le Mans Seat as BMW Driver Hints at Future Partnership

2024’s 24 hours of Le Mans is underway and Max Verstappen‘s comments about the endurance championship are making headlines. The 3-time F1 champion has, on several counts, displayed his interest in racing in Le Mans. Verstappen even agreed to team up with Fernando Alonso, his F1 rival and 2018 Le Mans winner for the prestigious race. While that is still far off, the Dutchman has received an offer from a BMW Hypercar driver.

After 25 years since their last win, BMW returns to Le Mans this year. Max Verstappen’s compatriot Robin Frijns will drive the BMW M Hybrid V8 Hypercar. The WEC driver even claimed that 2024 could be BMW’s year to win. If his fellow countryman from the F1 world joined in, wouldn’t that be a recipe for success? Frijns thinks so.

“I’m convinced he (Verstappen) could just step in and compete at Le Mans,” Frijns wrote in his column for Formule1.nl. “The question then is to be the fastest. But sim racing, which he also does in this area, certainly helps. And admit it, Max Verstappen at Le Mans, that’s great anyway. Who wouldn’t want to see that? In any case, I’d love to see it coming. And although I don’t speak to him very often, I think we would fit together as drivers. So if he’s still looking for a teammate…” he added, leaving the possibility of Verstappen realizing his Le Mans dream with BMW open.

The Red Bull driver has also been linked with Lando Norris and Valtteri Bottas as his 3rd teammate alongside Alonso. But this informal BMW offer changes the entire picture of his dream team. In either case, Verstappen has an F1 contract to attend to until the end of 2028. Even after that concludes, the changing setup of the Le Mans regulations adds an unfavorable variable.

Max Verstappen averse to hit-and-miss Le Mans rules

Two years ago, the Dutchman revealed he’d only race in the Le Mans if his dad Jos Verstappen was his teammate. Jos has quite some experience in the endurance category, having won the LMP2 class of the 2008 24 hours of Le Mans. But since then, the rules have changed quite a bit. The new BoP (balance of performance) regulations and the absence of a weight limit on drivers bother Max Verstappen.

“For me, also the driver weight, I feel like there needs to be a limit on that,” Verstappen said in Imola. “Because I might rock up at 80 kilos with kit, but there is also a driver that can be 50 or 60. When you go to Le Mans, you have no chance. You know, that already is a couple of tenths a lap. It’s pretty incredible, the difference,” he emphasized, urging the officials to change the rules.

This year, even Aston Martin has rejoined the Le Mans after a 59-year absence. The Lawrence Stroll-led team is competing with the Valkyrie, a Hypercar created by Red Bull’s former CTO Adrian Newey. This too could be Verstappen’s other entry option – driving a Newey-created car like he has been doing in F1.