- Max Verstappen has confirmed his next race off the Formula 1 track as the 2026 Nürburgring 24 hours, where he’ll race for team Winward Racing in a V8 Mercedes-AMG GT.
- Verstappen recently earned his DMSB Permit Nordschleife and competed in NLS9, where unsurprisingly, he won.
- The 2026 Nürburgring 24 Hours is set to take place between May 14 and 17, between the Miami Grand Prix and Canadian Grand Prix F1 races.
Max Verstappen is going to race a Mercedes this year, which, on paper, sounds like the sort of motorsport fantasy prediction you’d come up with after three pints. But it’s real, and it’s happening at the 2026 Nürburgring 24 Hours.
Yes, the four-time Formula 1 world champion, Red Bull poster boy, and passionate racer of all cars is swapping his Ford-powered F1 car for a Mercedes-AMG GT to tackle one of the most intimidating races on the planet this May.
It might sound like a jaunty sidequest, but it makes perfect sense given how strong a grip the Nürburgring has had on Verstappen for a while now.
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“The Nurburgring Nordschleife 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.”
Beyond his race start in NLS9, he also famously tested a Ferrari 296 GT3 under the wonderfully unsubtle alias “Franz Hermann”, proving he’ll do whatever it takes to race as many days of the year as he can.
Verstappen’s team includes heavy-hitters such as Dani Juncadella, Jules Gounon, and Lucas Auer, with support from Red Bull and Mercedes-AMG Motorsport, proving this is much more than a “celebrity entry”. It’s a proper hit-out, and knowing Max, he intends to win it.
If we’re honest, this is fan-fuel for everyone who loves motorsport beyond the F1 bubble. The Nürburgring 24 is chaotic, brutal, and gloriously unfiltered. A race where reputations can be built or buried in darkness.
Verstappen already made it clear after the Australian Grand Prix that he wasn’t especially interested in most of the new rule changes for F1 in 2026, saying post-race, “I love racing, but you can only take so much.” The Nürburgring, by contrast, is about as pure as it gets.
