DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.
The well-known melody “Du du du duh … Max Verstappen …” is likely disliked by most racing competitors except for the reigning four-time Formula 1 champion himself.
However, if given the choice, many of those same racers would welcome Verstappen to this weekend’s Rolex 24 in Daytona, eagerly anticipating the celebratory tune playing throughout the infield during his driving segments.

The upcoming race at Daytona International Speedway, set to begin on Saturday, showcases 235 elite drivers from 31 different countries.
This impressive lineup includes former F1 drivers, with Kevin Magnussen being the most seasoned among them, having recently wrapped up his 10-year career in Formula 1 last December.
Alongside him are ex-Haas F1 teammates Romain Grosjean and Pietro Fittipaldi, as well as Daniil Kvyat, Kamui Kobayashi, Felipe Nasr, Felipe Massa, Sebastien Bourdais, Paul Di Resta, Will Stevens, Brendon Hartley, Jack Aitken, Gianmaria Bruni, and Pascal Wehrlein.
Current F1 reserve drivers Felipe Drugovich, Frederik Vesti, and Ferrari’s development driver Arthur Leclerc will also be participating.

The competition is undeniably fierce.
When Australian V8 Supercars champion and NASCAR Cup Series newcomer Shane van Gisbergen was questioned about which driver was notably absent from the event, he promptly responded, “Max.”
His sentiments were mirrored by Ben Keating, a co-driver on van Gisbergen’s team, who expressed his desire to see Verstappen join them.
“I’d like to see Max Verstappen come out here and play around with us,” Keating stated.

Van Gisbergen mentioned having communicated with Verstappen in preparation for the Rolex, suggesting, “I think he’d be good here.”
Verstappen recently drove an Acura sports car at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in November and has previously expressed interest in transitioning to endurance racing at some point in the future.
He is also a passionate SIM racer, with his live streaming sessions attracting hundreds of thousands of viewers.

Magnussen predicted that Verstappen may eventually make an appearance at Daytona, pointing out, “I don’t see him continuing 10 years in F1.”
“He’s a proper racer, so he would do Daytona. Based on all the SIM racing he does and he already has a GT team,” Magnussen continued.

Verstappen had mentioned that his family is planning to establish a two-car GT3 team to compete in series like the GT World Challenge (GTWC), stemming from his enthusiasm for SIM racing, set to begin in 2025.
“The first step is our own GT3 team and then we’ll see where we end up,” Verstappen had shared with a Dutch magazine.
“It would be nice to be able to grow to the highest level in endurance racing.”