Verstappen tests "insane" Valkyrie road car

The Dutchman and teammate Alex Albon were sampling the road version of the car, developed in partnership with Red Bull Advanced Technologies, which Aston announced last year would enter in the 2020-21 World Endurance Championship that commences at Silverstone in September.

Although Aston Martin's partnership with RBAT on the Valkyrie was understood to be unaffected by the investment of a consortium led by Racing Point owner Lawrence Stroll into Aston Martin last month, several news outlets have reported that the programme will be imminently postponed.

It was unclear after the Stroll announcement, which would see Racing Point become the Aston Martin works team as part of the deal, whether Verstappen would be allowed to race the Valkyrie in the future.

Speaking after his first laps in the 6.5-litre VP1 car, which was equipped with a hybrid system that will not feature on the race-spec model, Verstappen spoke enthusiastically about the 6.5-litre V12 machine.

"I was here at Silverstone to watch the first runs of the Aston Martin Valkyrie at the British Grand Prix last year but of course it's always better to be behind the wheel yourself, and to be one of the first guys to drive an insane car like this was really exciting," he said.

"It was amazing to get a first taste of it. Of course it's still in the development phase but you can already feel the pace, which compared to a normal car is… pretty different!

"The Aston Martin Valkyrie and its levels of downforce are incredible, and it looks super aggressive. It was a lot of fun out there."

Albon added: "It was incredibly exciting to have this opportunity to drive the Aston Martin Valkyrie and the first thing that struck me was the visual aspect – it looks awesome! It also really feels like a racing car.

"Max had a go before me, so the anticipation was building, and to get a chance to drive it was really special.

"Obviously there's still some development to do, but already it feels very good, especially the balance between the corners. It's light; it feels sharp.

"Sure, compared to an F1 car, you're missing the outright downforce, but you still feel the Gs in the corners and it definitely reacts closer to an F1 car than a normal road car. It's pretty special, I just need to get my hands on one!"