Max Verstappen leaves rival gobsmacked after Nurburgring drive during weekend off

left a big impression on Nurburgring specialist Misha Charoudin with his drive at the iconic German circuit last week. Verstappen used the fake name Franz Hermann to keep a low profile while behind the wheel of a 296 GT3, which sported and Verstappen.com livery.

The Dutchman has repeatedly complained about the demands placed on F1 drivers but he still opted to get behind the wheel during his two-week break from Grand Prix action. Reports about Verstappen's Nurburgring lap times vary, with claiming that he completed his quickest circuit in seven minutes and 56 seconds.

Verstappen commemorated his trip with an , which was captioned: "Having fun at the Nordschleife". And Charoudin, who also runs a popular YouTube channel, was taken aback by his efforts.

He commented: "Bro shows up. Does a lap record with full tank and traffic. Refuses to elaborate. Leaves."

Whether Verstappen truly did break the lap record for the category his Ferrari 296 GT3 falls into is up for debate. Contrary to Charoudin's claims, claim their trackside timer clocked Verstappen crossing the line five seconds slower than the pole time set by German racing driver Frank Stippler at March's NLS1 event. The outright Nurburgring lap record stands at six minutes and 29 seconds, set by Maro Engel in a Mercedes-AMG One last year.

Verstappen, who is still in the hunt for a fifth consecutive F1 world title, spoke last year about heading to the Nurburgring in a competitive setting. He said: "The Nurburgring Nordschleife is one of my absolute favorite race tracks, and I hope that in a few years I can also compete here with a real GT3."

But British racing driver Alex Brundle - son of F1 hero Martin - believes that Verstappen will be required to jump through some hoops in order to get the required permit.

He wrote on : "If Max Verstappen wants to enter a race in GT3 at the Nurburgring - by the letter of the law he has to do two races of 14 laps total - in a car of power equivalent to a detuned Porsche Cayman to get an A permit.

"[My dad] did a similar thing to race with me a few years back. The organisers in my experience are pretty militant about there being no exceptions - so MV in a club spec BMW/Porsche could be in our future. I think that would be cool."