Max Verstappen taking on Valentino Rossi raises intruging questions

Max Verstappen will share a track with Valentino Rossi for the first time in a competitive setting this weekend, with the pair set to go wheel-to-wheel at the GT World Challenge Endurance finale in Portimão.

Verstappen lines up in a Mercedes AMG GT3 EVO, while Rossi will be behind the wheel of a BMW M4 GT3 EVO. The four-time F1 drivers' champion has already made clear he would rather not run into the MotoGP legend out on circuit. But is there really anything for Verstappen to worry about?

Few people are better placed to answer that than Kelvin van der Linde. The South African BMW factory driver spent a lengthy spell as Rossi's team-mate and has shared a car with the Italian on several occasions, giving him a unique insight into how the nine-time MotoGP champion has adapted to four wheels.

Speaking to RacingNews365 earlier this year, Van der Linde gave a frank assessment of where Rossi stands as a GT racer.

"It's a tricky question," he says. "I think that success in MotoGP came because he just had an incredible talent for two wheels.

"He was in the prime of his career back then. He was the perfect age at that time. Now, stepping into GT cars, he's in a different age category."

"I think even the very best drivers struggle to still be at their peak at 46. If I look at my own future, around my 45th [birthday], I'd be very happy if I was still competitive. But that is kind of the age where it gets difficult, isn't it?"

Van der Linde stressed that the transition has been anything but straightforward for Rossi, who made the switch to four wheels in 2022 with Team WRT before joining BMW in 2023.

The Italian, he explained, had to put in far more groundwork than a driver who had come up through the GT ranks.

"It meant that whole dynamic was harder for him. He had to put in a lot more work to be fast in a GT car. After all, he came from a different background."

Rossi's relentless work ethic

Van der Linde highlighted Rossi's work ethic and meticulous attention to detail as a combination that, even now — racing on four wheels instead of two — sets The Doctor apart from his rivals.

"What I did notice is that he is an incredibly hard worker, and I think that's something that characterises all the real top guys: that attention to detail," he said.

"He wants to know everything about the car. He wants to know anything that could give him even the smallest advantage. And when he's paired with a factory driver like me, he asks endless questions until he gets the answer he's looking for."

However, he also pointed out that due to the Italian's age and late coming to racing cars, he lacks an edge of speeds compared to those around him.

"In terms of pure talent, I think he's also very talented in a car," Van Der Linde stated. "But like I said, time and age have kind of passed him by a bit since he started in GT racing, he was already over 40 by then.

"So I think he was very competitive, and still is, but you have to see everything in relative terms. I say that with the utmost respect for Valentino.

"He's a great endurance driver, and he'll keep having success as an endurance driver in future too. But those last two, three tenths... it's a bit too late for him for that."

What Verstappen and Rossi have in common

It is not just about outright pace, either. Van der Linde admitted he has picked up plenty from Rossi off the track too, much of it mental, and something he also recognises in Verstappen.

"Mental things, more than anything else. I think the way he deals with his fans is still remarkable," he explains.

"I mean, that guy is an icon and just has so much patience for fans and for signing stuff and so on. That's a level of dedication that I really admire, because as GT drivers we don't have that kind of fanbase.

"But sometimes, when you're having a bad day, that's not easy either, right? Then you've got a fan who expects you to be happy and smiling.

"That's nowhere near my level, nor is it Max's or Valentino's, and that's actually why I admire them both. They're quite similar in their patience, and in how they deal with their fans, it's very admirable."