Verstappen to make Nurburgring 24 Hours debut in Red Bull-backed Mercedes
Max Verstappen will make his debut at the Nurburgring 24 Hours later this year in a Red Bull-liveried Mercedes.
The four-time Formula 1 world champion revealed his plans just one day after the 2026 F1 opener in Melbourne, where he raced from 20th to sixth.
Verstappen hasn’t hidden his strong dislike for the 2026 rules, something that was always likely to fuel his continued pursuit of racing outside of F1.
His participation in the 2026 Nurburgring 24 Hours was always contingent on how Red Bull's first F1 season with its homegrown power unit started and how much time he’d be able to devote to his Verstappen Racing team’s Nurburgring efforts.
His chances were boosted in January when one of the Nurburgring precursors that Verstappen would need to race in - NLS2 - was moved into the gap between F1’s Chinese and Japanese GPs.
Now Verstappen’s entry in NLS2 (March 21) and the Nurburgring 24 Hours (May 16-17) has been confirmed, with his team’s entry to be driven by Verstappen himself, Dani Juncadella, Jules Gounon and Lucas Auer.
They’ll compete in partnership with Mercedes-AMG and Red Bull, with a striking Red Bull livery revealed.
“The Nurburgring is a special place,” Verstappen said.
“There’s no other track like it. The 24h Nurburgring is a race that’s been on my bucket list for a long time, so I’m really thrilled we can make it happen now.
“Last year, I was able to get my DMSB Permit Nordschleife and participate in NLS9, that we won.
“That preparation is very valuable, as we have learned a lot that we can take into our programme this year with NLS2 and the 24-hour race.
“We’ve got a strong line-up with Dani, Jules and Lucas and great support from Red Bull and Mercedes-AMG Motorsport.
“Now it’s about putting in the right preparations before the events, so we can maximise everything in the races.”