Max Verstappen humiliates GT500 specialist in Japan as paddock left stunned
Rain hammered Fuji Speedway, spray covered the windshield, and still Max Verstappen drove like the track was bone dry.
That’s the part that left people shaking their heads this week.
The four-time Formula 1 world champion climbed into a GT500 machine against Japanese specialist Atsushi Miyake and immediately started throwing down laps that made seasoned racers uncomfortable. According to the analysts at Ziggo Sport Race Café, Verstappen was roughly two seconds faster than the regular driver in brutal wet conditions.
That number spread fast.
Fuji turned into Verstappen’s playground
GT500 cars are no joke. They’re violent through high-speed corners, insanely technical under braking and widely respected as some of the fastest GT cars anywhere in motorsport.
Even experienced drivers struggle to adapt.
Verstappen looked relaxed almost instantly.
The test took place at Fuji Speedway in Japan under soaking wet conditions, the kind of weather where most drivers spend half the session figuring out grip levels. Verstappen attacked the circuit from the opening laps. Watching the onboard footage, you could see the car moving around underneath him through the fast sections, but his steering inputs stayed calm.
That stood out more than the lap time itself.
Recent coverage of Verstappen’s wild Miami save already had fans comparing him to drivers from another era. This performance added fuel to that conversation.
Analysts couldn’t hide their disbelief
Ziggo Sport analyst Rob van Gameren called GT500 “one of the best GT classes in the world” and openly admitted he was stunned by the pace difference.
Still, he pushed back slightly against one online narrative.
People claimed this was Verstappen’s very first experience in a Super GT-style car. Van Gameren pointed out that Verstappen had driven one years ago and almost certainly spent time preparing in the simulator beforehand.
Fair point.
But even with preparation, beating a local GT500 ace by that margin in the rain isn’t normal. IMSA driver Renger van der Zande summed it up best when he called Verstappen “a freak.”
That word kept coming up during the discussion.
The Miyake situation looked painful
For Atsushi Miyake, this couldn’t have been comfortable.
Imagine being the hometown specialist, the established name in the category, only to watch a Formula 1 driver step into your world and immediately light up the timing screens purple sector after purple sector.
Former F1 driver Robert Doornbos almost laughed while describing it.
“You think you’re the sheriff,” he joked, “and then Max arrives.”
The comparison isn’t crazy either. Verstappen keeps doing this in different machinery. GT cars. Hypercars. Sim racing. Wet tracks. Doesn’t seem to matter.
Even Red Bull’s own motorsport division appeared caught off guard by how quickly he adapted.
More than just another viral moment
This wasn’t some publicity stunt with a celebrity driver cruising around for cameras.
Drivers inside the paddock noticed the details. The braking points. The consistency. The confidence over standing water.
One shot from the pit lane said everything. After climbing out of the car, Verstappen barely reacted. No celebration. No dramatic smile. He just calmly pulled off his gloves while engineers around him looked genuinely impressed.
That probably irritated the competition even more.
Ron
Ron Emmerink is founder of FSI247.com and former founder of Vechtsport Info, widely recognized for covering kickboxing, MMA, and combat sports. With nearly 20 years of experience, he built a reputation for objective journalism, expert analysis, and credible reporting, contributing to major Dutch media while authoring a respected book on kickboxing history.
