Verstappen joins Whincup for Supercars lap

Red Bull Formula 1 star Max Verstappen has enjoyed a taste of Supercars power at Albert Park.

The 21-year-old Dutchman hopped into the passenger seat with Jamie Whincup for a hotlap on Thursday morning at the Melbourne venue.

It marked the first Supercars running of the weekend, ahead of two practice and ARMOR ALL Qualifying sessions for the Beaurepaires Melbourne 400 on Thursday.

The stunt came a day after Verstappen’s former team-mate Daniel Ricciardo drove Rick Kelly’s Nissan Altima Supercar at Calder, thanks to Castrol.

While today marked Verstappen’s first on-track Supercars experience, it was not his first time in one of the Australian cars.

He’d sat in the drivers’ seat of Shane van Gisbergen’s entry at Albert Park in 2017, as part of a promotional visit to the Triple Eight garage.