Why don't drivers enter other series like Verstappen? F1 Q&A

Why don't drivers enter other series like Verstappen? F1 Q&AImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, The Mercedes of Max Verstappen, Lucas Auer, Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella was leading the Nurburgring 24 Hours with three hours and 20 minutes left when a broken driveshaft forced them off the trackPublished9 minutes agoCommentsFormula 1 is back in North America this weekend for the Canadian Grand Prix, the fifth round of the 2026 season.Mercedes' George Russell, who won the race last year, will be aiming to narrow the 20-point gap to his team-mate Kimi Antonelli at the top of the drivers' championship.Before the race in Montreal, BBC F1 correspondent Andrew Benson answers your latest questions.Why don't other F1 drivers enter different forms of motor racing like Max Verstappen is currently doing with the endurance racing? - Paul Max Verstappen's outing at the Nurburgring 24 Hours last weekend generated a lot of interest, but it is no accident that he is only the third grand prix driver in more than 20 years - and probably longer - to race seriously elsewhere while competing in Formula 1.The other big name to do so was Fernando Alonso, towards the end of his first career in F1, when he took part in the Indianapolis 500, Daytona 24 Hours and then joined Toyota for the World Endurance Championship while he was still under contract to McLaren.Nico Hulkenberg also raced at Le Mans when he was at Force India in 2015.The main reason drivers do not generally do this is that their contracts forbid it.Why? Well, risk is the first obvious reason. Then there are potential contractual clashes, and the lack of time available to devote to doing something like this properly.In Verstappen's case, it is a question of the balance of power between driver and team. He has massive leverage with Red Bull that most other drivers do not have.He is a four-time world champion, and the team are desperate to keep him happy. On a general level, but also bec...