4-time F1 champion Max Verstappen comes clean on his sim racing pseudonym ‘Franz Hermann’

Max Verstappen has recently opened up about his pseudonym ‘Franz Hermann’, which caused a stir in the Formula 1 scene. The four-time world champion created a buzz across the motorsport world when he took part in a test session at the Nürburgring Nordschleife under the alias.

Earlier in May, ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, the Red Bull Racing driver—who also owns a GT3 team, Verstappen.com Racing—took to the iconic German circuit to test out his team’s car. While seeing the 27-year-old participate in a test at the circuit wasn’t particularly unusual, it was the name he used—Franz Hermann—that drew attention. In a recent video, Max Verstappen opened up on the thought process behind the pseudonym.

Speaking in a video shared on Instagram by Verstappen.com, he stated:

“Yeah, so the team Emil Frey—we have the GT3 car with them—they were like, ‘Mate, you can drive under a fake name. Do you have any recommendations?’ I was like, you know what, let’s make it really German. So I said, Franz Hermann.”

Max Verstappen went on to break the lap record at the circuit during that test day, before capping off the month with another race victory at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola.

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Max Verstappen speaks on breaking the GT3 lap record in Nurburgring

Max Verstappen also spoke about breaking the GT3 lap record at the Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit. The Red Bull driver explained how well accustomed to the track he already was before his drive.

Verstappen revealed that he had driven around the circuit several times in sim racing games and discussed how many attempts it took to eclipse the existing lap record at the German circuit. Sharing his thoughts in the social media video, he stated:

“7:56 on the VLN layout, so that was good. I think a few weeks before that, the pole [position] was a 7:51—and of course, we just ran it with a full tank, right? So, second lap was 7:54, and we went back out with a new set of tyres and did a 7:48. So this was good. I mean, the car was really nice to drive. I felt comfortable because I did like a thousand laps on the simulator.”

Before Max Verstappen eclipsed the achievement, the lap record for a GT3 car at the Nürburgring circuit was held by Christian Krognes—7:49.578—achieved while racing in the GT3 endurance series for the BMW M4 team.

It’s worth noting that Verstappen has never hidden his love for endurance racing, and on several occasions, he has hinted at participating in events within the series, including the highly revered 24 Hours of Le Mans. Whether the Red Bull Racing driver eventually ventures into the world of endurance racing—especially considering his current commitments in Formula 1—remains a storyline worth keeping a close watch on.

Edited by Riddhiman Sarkar