Max Verstappen makes a surprise pick on who would be his teammate if he drove the Le Mans 24 hours

Max Verstappen recently picked former F1 driver, Nyck de Vries, as one of his 24 hours of Le Mans teammates if he ever drives in the historic race. de Vries raced with AlphaTauri (currently RB) in 2023 and was replaced mid-season by Daniel Ricciardo.

In an exclusive interview with Red Bull eSports new driver, Jarno Opmeer, Verstappen was asked which four drivers he would pick for his Le Mans team if he ever drives in the race.

Surprisingly, the three-time world champion's first pick was Red Bull reject, Nyck de Vries. He praised his fellow Dutchman for being lightweight and quick around the track.

"One I would like to have in the team, I think definitely is Nyck de Vries. He's fast and he's very light, and at the moment, when you are very fast and light, it's great," Verstappen said.

The Red Bull star mentioned that he joked around with Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso for teaming up for Le Mans. He also wanted his father, Jos Verstappen to join, even though the latter was not too keen on taking part in the race.

"I keep joking with Fernando that we want to do it together. So it would be quite cool. I keep telling as well, my dad, that you know, we have to do it. He does not want to do it," he added.

Nyck de Vries raced in several motorsport series before officially entering F1 as a permanent driver with AlphaTauri in 2023. However, he started struggling quite a bit in most races, to the point where Red Bull seniors had to step in and remove the Dutchman from the team mid-season, after only 10 races.

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Max Verstappen's thoughts after Nyck de Vries' F1 exit

After Nyck de Vries was removed from AlphaTauri, Max Verstappen gave his thoughts on the decision taken by Red Bull.

The three-time world champion spoke to the media and praised his fellow Dutchman for his great racecraft in several motorsport series. He then talked about how the new generation of cars is difficult for drivers to handle, especially if they are slightly unique in setup. He also mentioned that things can become even tougher if these complicated cars are not competitive enough.

“I think we all know that Nyck he’s an incredible driver. He’s shown that in every single category,” Max Verstappen said.

“And, you know, when the car’s a little bit difficult… And I think anyway, you know, this new generation of cars, when you’re a rookie, it doesn’t matter of course what age you are or whatever, they are quite difficult I think to get on top of. Plus that the car probably is not the most competitive, it all made it a bit harder,” he added.

Following his F1 exit, de Vries was hired by Toyota Gazoo Racing Hypercar class for the 2024 World Endurance Championship. His and his team's standing is currently second in the Hypercar class. De Vries and his team finished second in the 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours, only behind Ferrari's WEC team.