Max Verstappen returns to the Nürburgring
Here we go again with Max Verstappen at the Nürburgring. The four-time Formula 1 world champion, who has often expressed his frustration and hinted at stepping away from F1, keeps returning to GT3 cars whenever possible to prepare for his next participation in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, scheduled for the weekend of May 16-17. He did so, for example, right after Suzuka, catching a flight from Japan to get behind the wheel of the Mercedes AMG GT3 of his Verstappen.com Racing team, and he will continue to do so. The next key dates to mark on the calendar are April 18 and 19, when the Dutchman will compete in two four-hour races across two days.
Preparation program for the 24 Hours
Motorsport.com reveals that Max Verstappen’s next objective is not the third NLS championship race on April 11, as one might have assumed, but rather the two “qualifying” races for the 24 Hours of Nürburgring Nordschleife the following week. The reason is simple: the track layout for the races on April 18 and 19 is slightly different from the standard NLS configuration, but it matches exactly the setup used for the 24 Hours. Additionally, the Saturday race will conclude at 21:30, meaning a night session—an important test for the four-time world champion, who has driven in all conditions at the Nordschleife so far, but never at night.
Another advantage for Max Verstappen is that he will share the car with Lucas Auer, as both Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella—the teammates he drove with in the March 21 race, which the team was later disqualified from due to a technical irregularity with the tires—will be unavailable that weekend due to their commitments in the WEC at Imola. Auer was the only 24 Hours teammate Verstappen had not yet shared the cockpit with, making the double event on April 18-19, made possible by the cancellation of the F1 races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, a crucial preparation opportunity for him at the Nürburgring.
These GT3 outings highlight Max Verstappen’s relentless pursuit of racing excellence outside the F1 paddock. By utilizing the unexpected gaps in the 2026 calendar to master the nuances of the Nordschleife at night and build chemistry with his endurance teammates, Max is ensuring he enters the 24-hour race in peak form. For fans of the Dutchman, seeing him push a Mercedes-AMG GT3 to its limits on the “Green Hell” provides a fascinating glimpse into what a post-F1 career might look like for one of the sport’s greatest talents.