Watch live: Max Verstappen starts his Nürburgring 24 Hours challenge. Nürburgring 24 Hours: Max Verstappen hits the track as race weekend begins.

The official live broadcasts of the opening sessions, a mix between qualifying and practice around the legendary Nordschleife

The 2026 Nürburgring 24 Hours begins

At last, the wait is over. The long and demanding weekend of the 2026 Nürburgring 24 Hours begins on Thursday, with Max Verstappen set to take on the legendary Nordschleife alongside teammates Lucas Auer, Daniel Juncadella, and Jules Gounon in the number 3 Mercedes-AMG GT3.

The opening action begins with the first two official sessions, Q1 and Q2. However, while they are technically qualifying sessions, they function as true qualifying only for drivers in the lower categories fighting for grid positions from 50th to 161st on the starting grid.

For Max Verstappen, these are effectively practice sessions

For Max Verstappen, as well as the other high-profile professional drivers competing in GT3 machinery, these opening sessions serve a different purpose.

The Dutch driver and his rivals will already be able to hit the track to begin fine-tuning the car setup and building confidence around one of the most challenging circuits in motorsport. At over 20 kilometres in length, the Nordschleife remains a track packed with danger, complexity, and relentless elevation changes at virtually every corner.

Even if the terminology may seem contradictory, Q1 and Q2 effectively act as practice sessions for professional GT3 drivers, since they are automatically guaranteed a place within the top 49 starting positions and are not required to set a competitive lap simply to progress.

There is, however, one important condition: every driver must take part in Q2, the three-and-a-half-hour night session, in order to receive official clearance from race control to continue through the rest of the weekend.

Live streaming for Q1 and Q2

How and when can fans follow the opening official sessions of the Nürburgring 24 Hours weekend? Below, viewers can find the official live stream feeds from the event organizers’ YouTube channel, including both the traditional world feed and pit lane coverage. Thursday’s action from the Green Hell begins at 13:15 with the opening two-hour Q1 session, while Q2 is scheduled to run from 20:00 to 23:30.

The race weekend Max Verstappen has been eagerly anticipating starts here.