The newest F1 race winner, Kimi Antonelli, took to Instagram and uploaded a story as the Mercedes star followed Max Verstappen racing at the Nordschleife-Nurburgring in the NLS Race 2. The Dutchman took the pole position and won the race at the ‘green hell’.
Verstappen took the pole position in the #3 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT at the NLS Race 2 with a lap time of 7:51.751, over 1.9 seconds faster than Christopher Haase in the #16 Scherer Sport PHX Audi. The Dutchman was able to keep the lead into the first corner and led for the first lap before being passed by the #16 Audi.
Kimi Antonelli, who took his first F1 win at the 2026 Chinese GP and became the second youngest race winner, behind Max Verstappen, took to Instagram and shared an image suggesting he was following the fellow F1 driver racing in NLS Race 2.
The Mercedes driver uploaded a picture of his TV with the start at NLS Race 2 on it.
Max Verstappen was nicknamed the ‘mother duck’ last season as all the rookies who joined the grid in 2025 were seen in and around the Dutchman during the driver’s parade and in the paddock.
Antonelli has been public about the support and advice that Verstappen provided him during his rookie season. The Dutchman even reached out to the Italian after the Mercedes driver was subject to online abuse following the 2025 Qatar GP.
Max Verstappen partnered with Daniel Juncadella and Jules Gounon, members of Verstappen Racing, to race the #3 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the SP9 category (Top class at NLS).
Despite losing the race lead after the first lap, the four-time F1 champion took it back just before the first stint came to an end. In the following stints, Daniel Juncadella and Jules Gounon maintained the lead as the Dutchman stepped in for the final stint and brought the Mercedes home in P1.
Kimi Antonelli details his wish to partner with Max Verstappen for an endurance race
Max Verstappen isn’t all about racing in F1, and highlighted his wish to race in a multitude of series, which includes endurance racing. Amid the Red Bull star racing at the NLS Race 2, and planning to race the 24 Hours of Nurburgring this year, Kimi Antonelli came out and detailed his wish to partner with Verstappen for an endurance race.
“I would love to do an endurance race with Max, together. I think that would be pretty awesome. It’s cool because we both have the passion for GTs. On my side it came from my dad with the GT team, and occasionally I go and test when I can,” said Kimi Antonelli
“I think we would be a really cool pair, and it would be a really cool experience. It’s something that I’ve been considering as well. I’ve already asked to do a test at the Nordschleife, for example, because it’s a track that I love. I would love to be able to try it in the real world as well,” added the Italian.
Fernando Alonso previously came out and detailed his wish to partner with Max Verstappen to race at Le Mans.
Edited by Pranay Bhagi