Christian Horner makes decision on letting Max Verstappen skip F1 race

has ruled out the possibility of missing an F1 Grand Prix to compete in a GT3 race. However, the Red Bull team principal did confirm that he is free to continue pursuing his sports car racing passion outside of his race weekend commitments.

Verstappen raised eyebrows during the one-week break ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix when he showed up at a test and set-up session for the Nurburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS). The Dutchman, competing under the pseudonym 'Franz Hermann', broke the Nurburgring Nordschleife GT3 lap record as he competed in a Verstappen.com Racing liveried Ferrari 296 machine. The four-time F1 world champion's work for Emil Frey Racing has not gone unnoticed, and Verstappen plans to extend his involvement into competing in NLS events in the future.

Asked whether there was a desire to compete in the Nurburgring 24 Hours in the future, he explained: "Yeah, I would like to do that in the future. That's why I'm doing all these things, to prepare a bit, get a bit of experience. So you don't need to do that in the future."

While others, including F1 pundit Ralf Schumacher, were unimpressed by Verstappen's extra-curricular driving, the Red Bull star has the backing of team principal Horner.

"Well, look, he's so versatile and he's so passionate about all forms of racing - sim racing, GT racing, he has his own GT team effectively - so he was very keen to run at the Nurburgring," he told Sky Sports F1 after FP1 at the Emilia Romagna GP.

"It is something we've known about for quite some time. And he went there and did an incredible job and really enjoyed himself. It's what he does, it's what he loves doing, and it would be very hard to take that away from him."

Horner was then asked whether or not he could race in the Nurburgring 24 Hours in the future. "The focus has to be here on the day job," he explained. "But I think it's great that he is so versatile, and I think, as Red Bull, we've always been slightly more relaxed than perhaps other teams in terms of the freedom that we've given our drivers. But it is finding that compromise, finding that balance. Obviously, the priority is here, but it is great that he is embracing all forms of motorsport."

However, Verstappen won't be given permission to miss a Grand Prix. "He's not going to miss a race, that is for sure," Horner confirmed. "But he really enjoys the GT stuff, and his ability to jump in and just deliver... I mean, he sent us a copy of the onboard in the Nurburgring, and it was insane. And you can see why he enjoys it so much."