Photo: Kazuki Ito

Formula 1 star Max Verstappen sampled Nissan’s Z NISMO SUPER GT challenger in a test organized by Red Bull at Fuji Speedway on Wednesday.

The test was held in rainy weather at the Toyota-owned venue as Verstappen got behind the wheel of a specially-prepared Red Bull-liveried Z NISMO running in 2025-spec aero and equipped with Bridgestone tires.

The Dutchman was taking part in the promotional test put together by Red Bull before heading on to Suzuka for this weekend’s third round of the F1 season.

Verstappen is understood to have completed only a handful of laps as he shared driving duties with Kondo Racing Nissan GT500 regular Atsushi Miyake.

The run did not mark Verstappen’s first run in a top-class SUPER GT car, however, as he sampled a Honda NSX-GT at Motegi during the Honda Thanks Day fan event in 2022.

His appearance at Fuji follows his outing in last weekend’s NLS2 at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, where he provisionally won in the Verstappen Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo he shared with Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella, only to be later disqualified.

Also taking to the track for the Red Bull promo run was a Honda NSX GT3 running on Dunlop tires and wrapped in the colors of the Austrian drinks firm.

This was prepared by Nakajima Racing and driven by Igor Fraga, who is set to make his top-class SUPER GT debut for the same team this season.

Toyota SUPER GT driver Ukyo Sasahara, who is sponsored by Red Bull Japan, was also spotted at Fuji but was not part of the on-track activities.

Red Bull has a history of involvement in SUPER GT, but it has not been active in the series since the 2022 season, when it sponsored Team Mugen’s Honda NSX-GT — an arrangement that came to an end when Mugen merged with ARTA for 2023.

The test coincided with the second day of GT500 makers’ testing at Fuji, for which Honda and Nissan were both present.

However, the No. 23 NISMO Nissan completed its allotted four hours of running on Tuesday in more favorable weather conditions, leaving only the No. 8 ARTA HRC Prelude-GT and the No. 99 test car in action on Wednesday.