Max Verstappen has played off comments made by George Russell about the prospect of the pair teaming up at the Nurburgring 24 Hours.
The Dutchman came bitterly close to winning the 2026 edition of the race, with his #3 car leading comfortably when reliability issues struck with just over three hours to run.
Talk of the Red Bull driver's exploits at the Nordschleife was all the rage in the Montreal paddock during media day for the Canadian Grand Prix, and Russell has refused to rule out the idea of them sharing a car together, saying "never say never", which is an interesting notion given Verstappen's longstanding links to the Briton's F1 seat at Mercedes.
There is also no love lost between the two. They have clashed off the track over the past couple of years, which has provided an added dynamic to the speculation surrounding their futures in the championship.
When those remarks were put to the four-time F1 drivers' champion, and he was asked about his feelings on the matter, he poured cold water on the suggestion without outright rejecting it.
"Yeah, but I think I'm also in a little bit of a different situation, right?" Verstappen replied to media, including RacingNews365.
"I've won championships in F1, and of course, I'm busy with my whole GT3 project, so I think we are a little bit in a different position like that.
"I think, for him, the focus is fully on Formula 1 at the moment."
The 28-year-old revealed that various drivers had contacted him about the outing in Germany, underlining the interest in venturing outside the confines of F1 from time to time.
He added: "But it's cool, a lot of drivers were texting me, following it, so I think that's always nice to see that."
Also interesting:
Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes, Samuel Coop and Nick Golding as they look ahead to this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix! The trio discuss the fact Mercedes will introduce a major upgrades package and how Max Verstappen could be a real threat with a smooth weekend.
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