Christopher Haase brought more than 15 years of top-level GT3 experience to the latest Bizz Talk – and he did so at a moment when the whole motorsport world is suddenly talking about him again.
Before Round 3 of Season 9 at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife, the German Audi expert joined the unique World eX community to talk about his GT3 career, his spectacular recent battles with Max Verstappen, his deep connection with the Nordschleife, the upcoming Nürburgring 24 Hours and the role sim racing plays in his preparation.
Haase’s GT journey began in the mid-2000s when GT3 was still in its infancy. He quickly became one of the reference drivers in the category, winning the inaugural ADAC GT Masters title in 2007 with a Lamborghini Gallardo run by Reiter Engineering and later adding major endurance victories at the Nürburgring and Spa to his résumé. “The philosophy of GT3 cars never changed,” he explained. “What changed is where the car generates lap time.” Early GT3 machinery relied on strong engine power and relatively low downforce. Modern cars, he says, are defined by sophisticated aerodynamics, electronics and narrow setup windows. “Nowadays we have cars which already have, for the weight of the cars, quite a lot of downforce – you really need to work with it,” Haase said, pointing out that precise ride height and balance are now critical, even if outright engine power feels more limited than in the early days.
Despite many different programs over the years – from GT1 Lamborghinis to BMW GT3 cars – the Audi R8 LMS GT3 has been his main “weapon of choice”. Asked by a community member to pick a favourite generation, he did not hesitate: “The favourite one is definitely the very last spec,” he said about the Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II. Earlier versions, including the first Evo, “had their issues” with balance shifts, but the final evolution transformed the car with what he described as surprisingly small but very effective changes. “When you’re in your performance window, this is a car where when you hit it right, nobody can beat you,” Haase smiled – even if that window is getting smaller and smaller as development on the R8 has essentially stopped.
Those qualities of the Audi R8 were on full display in his recent wheel‑to‑wheel fights with four-time Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen on the Nordschleife. Their duels in NLS and the Nürburgring 24h Qualifiers went viral, turning Haase overnight into “the guy who overtook Verstappen in the Green Hell”. Inside the cockpit, however, he insists he treated it like any other battle: “Obviously you know who is in the car, but you don’t sit in the car and watch the mirror and think, ‘Oh, this is Max. I need to do this,’” he said. “At the end, I raced like I always raced and like I race many others there.” Only after his stint, stepping out of the car, did he realise what the images would mean for the public and for GT3 racing as a whole: “Okay, this has been something for the public and for everybody something great.”
What did impress him was how quickly Verstappen adapted to the specific challenges of the Nordschleife in a GT3 car. “I was really surprised… how quickly he was able to adapt to all these situations which we had,” Haase admitted, pointing out that managing traffic, yellow flags and dirt on the track is far more difficult than just doing a single fast lap. For Haase, the main takeaway from those races is that the battles were “very special for the whole GT3 business” and brought a huge spotlight to a category that has quietly become one of the pillars of modern motorsport.
It’s no coincidence that these duels happened at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife, a circuit Haase openly calls one of his favourite tracks in the world. “It’s one of my favourite tracks,” he said. “I have a few favourite tracks… but obviously Nürburgring as a German is the highest one.” He singled out Pflanzgarten II and the Stefan Bellof‑S as his favourite section: “It’s so fast! Every time I feel like it’s one of the corners where you start to feel your neck. The car is jumping. It’s really, really fast.”
That intimate knowledge of the Green Hell has helped him win the Nürburgring 24 Hours twice already, in 2012 and 2014, both times with the Phoenix/Scherer squad.
For the upcoming 24 Hours, Haase will again lead the Scherer Sport PHX Audi attack, sharing the R8 LMS GT3 evo II with British drivers Alexander Sims and Ben Green. He praised both teammates after the Qualifiers, where the trio already scored a race win: “I was really impressed,” Haase said. “Alexander only took three, four laps and he was back in racing mode there.” Ben Green, in his first race in the Audi, “adapted very, very quickly. At the end of the race he has been spot on pace”. All three drivers reported similar feelings and requests from the car, which Haase considers crucial in endurance racing.
With Audi and Scherer putting huge effort into fine‑tuning the R8 on Michelin tyres specifically for the Nordschleife, Haase describes the 24 Hours as “for sure the highlight of the season” and feels the car is “usually super well-balanced” on the legendary track.
Away from the real Nordschleife, sim racing has also become one of Haase’s tools – even if he approaches it with the pragmatism of a full‑time pro. “I do use it,” he said when asked if he still spends time on the sim. “For example, just for Brands Hatch I prepared at home a little bit on my sim rig.” He doesn’t race online, doesn’t dive into setup‑building or league communities. Instead, he uses platforms like iRacing and Assetto Corsa selectively as a personal training ground when he goes to circuits that are new or unfamiliar. “I do it at home for myself if I feel like I go somewhere and I need some practice,” he explained, adding that with his busy life as a “one‑man show” – managing his racing, business and even everyday chores himself – time is too limited to become a full‑time sim racer on top.
Despite Audi’s withdrawal from a full factory-supported GT3 program, Haase’s motivation is undiminished. He remains grateful for 14 years as an Audi Sport driver but is realistic about the need to “move on”, pointing to his strong performances in other cars such as the BMW he drove to second place in this year’s Dubai 24 Hours with Team WRT. Hypercar racing remains a dream. “I wanted to go LMP1, which is nowadays Hypercars. This has been always my dream. But the budget required to make that jump is still a major obstacle.” For now, GT3 remains his playground, whether in the ultra‑competitive GT World Challenge and IMSA. And he would not say no if an offer for the DTM would come along his way.
Asked for one piece of advice for the sim racers and enthusiasts in the Bizz Talk audience, Haase chose a classic racing mantra: “To finish first, first you have to finish,” he laughed. “The biggest advice is what I learned: do less mistakes than the others. You will do mistakes – but just do less.”