Organisers of the Bathurst 12 Hour race have had “expressions of interest” from Max Verstappen for next year’s event – and current F1 drivers’ championship favourite Kimi Antonelli is also a chance of lining up on the grid, according to a new report.

Speaking on Fox Sports’ Motor Racing 360 program on Wednesday, reporter James Phelps said efforts are underway to get the superstars to the Mountain for the race in February, with the release of the 2027 F1 calendar paving the way for the possibility.

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Pre-season testing for Verstappen, Antonelli and their rivals is scheduled to begin in Bahrain on February 24, and the 12 Hour runs from the 11th to the 14th.

“The Bathurst 12 Hour organisers were going to have a crack at getting Max Verstappen over and with the release of the calendar, we’ve got a week and a half either side of the F1 event, so it looks like it’s going to happen,” Phelps told viewers.

“And not just happen, we’ve had expressions of interest from Max. The moves are underway. He won’t be driving with Broc Feeney in a Ford, as has been reported. It will be in his team, the Verstappen.com racing team, in an AMG. It’s going to be massive.

“This one is even bigger and certainly one I didn’t see coming: Kimi Antonelli himself could be on the way over. An expression of interest has come over on behalf of Kimi’s father Marco. He drives GT3 in Italy and it’s a lifelong ambition of his to one, drive the mountain, and two, team up with his son.”

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Verstappen has ties to Ford via Red Bull, and has made several appearances in GT racing. He almost took victory in the Nürburgring 24 hour race in May before falling victim to mechanical problems, for example.

He’s also quite familiar with the Bathurst track despite never physically turning a wheel there. Instead, the Dutchman won the iRacing Bathurst 12 Hour sim-racing contest in 2021 with co-driver Enzo Bonito and set a pole position lap time of 2:00.726 in a simulated Audi GT3 car.

Verstappen also voiced his affection for the Mount Panorama circuit ahead of this year’s Australian Grand Prix, saying, “I like Bathurst. It’s an amazing track and a place that I would definitely like to race at.”