“No, no, no”: Max Verstappen shut down by Red Bull taskmaster when asked about racing in Nurburgring alongside Daniel Ricciardo

Red Bull ace Max Verstappen was denied permission to drive F1 machinery on the Nordschleife by top boss Helmut Marko. Verstappen admitted that he wished to take on the historic track, but was shut down by Marko.

The reigning world champion revealed that he discussed the idea of driving an F1 car during the event, but his ideas were quickly dismissed due to safety concerns. Speaking to the media ahead of the Canadian GP, Verstappen said:

"I wanted to do it, but I was not allowed by Helmut. He knew that I would try and go to the limits. I would have loved to do it."

Max Verstappen added the matter was brought up during a discussion and he suggested his plans to join the event. After being discouraged to drive on the track, the Dutchman added that he didn't push the issue.

"I didn't want to start unnecessary issues," Verstappen said. "I heard this thing was coming up, and Helmut was sitting at the table when it came up, and he said: 'No, no, no, you're not doing that!'"

The Nordschleife is one of the most challenging and dangerous tracks in the world. The unforgiving track is infamous for its various fatal accidents in the past. That might be the reason the team decided not to let their championship-favorite driver take on the track.

Last week former Red Bull driver, Sebastian Vettel was announced to drive at Nurburgring, Nordschleife as a part of the team's Formula 1 demo run in September. Vettel will be joining his former teammate Daniel Ricciardo during the event.

The four-time world champion will drive his championship-winning 2011 car RB7, while Ricciardo will take the wheel of the RB8. It will be the first time in over a decade that F1 machinery will take on the historic track.

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Max Verstappen wishes he could challenge the lap record at Nordschleife

After setting various lap records on Formula 1 tracks across the globe, Max Verstappen admitted that he would have challenged the lap record at the historic Nordschleife, which once hosted F1 races.

The two-time F1 champion said:

"I would have definitely given it a go. But you need not the demo tyres [that teams have to run with] and some proper tyres, which is not allowed."

Max Verstappen is aware of the dangers of the track but hopes to drive on the track one day. When asked about his choice of machinery for the track, to which the Red Bull driver replied:

"Ideally, that would have been amazing in an F1 car. But if it's not allowed in an F1 car, then maybe one day in a GT3 car."