The British racer who also benefitted from Verstappen’s secret GT3 test

Last week, someone named ‘Franz Hermann’ drew significant attention during a GT3 test at the Nurburgring Nordschleife. Behind this alias was none other than four-time Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen, who took to the wheel of a Ferrari 296 GT3 from Swiss outfit Emil Frey Racing during an official Nurburgring Endurance Series test.

The Red Bull F1 driver collaborates with Emil Frey Racing under the Verstappen.com Racing banner and wanted to get some laps on the ‘Green Hell’ without attracting huge crowds of fans to the pitlane in the early morning.

He succeeded in keeping things quiet, but that also meant many quickly forgot that Verstappen wasn’t the only one in the car that day. Chris Lulham, sim racer for Team Redline – Verstappen’s sim racing operation – was also present.

He appeared in some photos, though remained anonymous throughout the ordeal. “We shared the car all day,” Lulham told Autosport at the subsequent GT World Challenge event at Zandvoort.

“I mainly drove in the afternoon – I think I did most of the laps then. It was an incredible experience driving that track for the first time. Nothing can really prepare you for it.

“I’ve done thousands of laps on the simulator and even won the 24-hour sim race there several times, but nothing compares to the real thing.”

Lulham has been competing with Team Redline for several years now, and not without success. The Briton has made a name for himself by winning major sim racing events, which this year earned him a seat in GT3 racing with Verstappen.com Racing.

Though he has some prior experience in karting and cars, sim racing was his path to the real racing world.

“It was a strange experience,” Lulham said about his Nurburgring test. “In the afternoon, more people started showing up. I don’t think many of them even realised I was in the car too…”

When it’s pointed out that he was indeed visible in some of the photos, but the focus was mainly on ‘Franz’, Lulham laughs.

“That’s a shame, isn’t it?” he said. “But he was super helpful throughout the day. We had the live onboard feed in the truck, and he pointed out the little lines he had discovered.

“There are over a hundred corners on that track, so plenty of nuances to find. We helped each other with what we learned. It was a very productive day and the car was really fast.”

While Verstappen’s participation attracted most of the attention, the underlying purpose of the test was also a topic of discussion. According to Lulham, both drivers had a similar objective: to log miles on the Nordschleife and support the team.

“It was the first time on the Nordschleife for both of us and also about building a baseline for the team, as it was the first time the 296 had been run on that track,” Lulham explained.

“We both need to get a permit if we want to race there. That’s still an open question.”

Lulham confirmed that he does aspire to race in the 24 Hours of the Nurburgring, but there’s no guarantee he’ll earn the permit this year, though.

“There are a lot of loose ends that need to be tied up to make that happen,” he said.

“I need to get that permit in the coming months if I want to race. For Max, it’s a different story. He obviously has very limited time. Honestly, I don’t know what his plans are. Hopefully, we can both race in the NLS [Nurburgring Langstrecken Serie] by the end of the year.”

Lulham spent several years karting and was even runner-up in the OKJ Karting Championship in 2017. Since then, he’s raced in British Formula 4 and won the SR3 class of the Radical Cup UK, but thanks to support from Verstappen.com Racing, he’s now competing at the highest level of GT3 – the GT World Challenge Europe – in both sprint and endurance races.

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Support from Verstappen.com Racing and Verstappen himself has “been crucial” to this rise through he ranks, he said.

“We had a long winter programme that started late last year to prepare me for this season, and I think the results show that,” Lulham said.

“To get into the Ferrari for the first race and immediately qualify on the front row, just two hundredths off pole… That shows what’s possible with the right preparation and the right people behind you.”

Lulham completed plenty of mileage in the Ferrari alongside Verstappen

Photo by: SRO

Lulham was surprised that he was immediately quick and able to run at the front. During the winter programme, he could already track his progress, supported by reference points from team-mate Thierry Vermeulen – son of Verstappen’s manager Raymond – and Verstappen himself.

The adventure with Verstappen.com Racing may still be in its early stages, but Lulham is very satisfied with the support so far.

“The Verstappen.com Racing family is a big one, with many influential people backing me and my career,” Lulham said.

“You always feel the support, but you also feel the pressure – so it’s a double-edged sword. But it’s been a fantastic start.”

Lulham is part of a growing trend of sim racers making the leap to real-life motorsport – and often, they perform well. But does real-world experience feed back into his sim racing?

“It helps in the sense that you work with skilled engineers during real race weekends – people who’ve been in the sport for years,” Lulham said.

“You learn lots of small details you might miss as a sim racer, and you start thinking differently. In terms of lap time, it probably doesn’t help, because the techniques you use in a real car differ. But I’m confident I’ll still be competitive in sim races this year.”

Together with Vermeulen Jr, Lulham now wants to make a big impression in the Gold Cup class of the GT World Challenge. The rookie even believes a top-three finish overall is possible. The pair currently sit 10th, but at Brands Hatch – where they won the Gold Cup – an outright victory didn’t seem far off.

“In Sprint, I don’t see why we couldn’t finish in the top five, top four, or hopefully even top three,” said Lulham. “Every race has its own challenges, and we’ll have highs and lows – we already have. Long-term, we’re still early in my first season, so I don’t know where this journey will go yet. I can’t say anything for certain, but I’d love to make a career out of this.”

Verstappen helped Lulham with Nordschleife advice

Photo by: SRO