- Max Verstappen to Race Nürburgring 24 Hours in Red Bull-Branded Mercedes-AMG GT3
Max Verstappen will race in this weekend’s Nürburgring 24 Hours, taking on one of motorsport’s most demanding endurance events as the Red Bull Formula One driver continues to broaden his racing life beyond the F1 paddock. The four-time world champion is set to drive a Red Bull-branded Mercedes-AMG GT3 for Team Verstappen Racing, sharing the car with Dani Juncadella, Jules Gounon and Lucas Auer.
The decision is significant because the Nürburgring 24 Hours is not a ceremonial appearance. It is one of the most physically, mentally and technically punishing races in the world, staged on the fearsome Nordschleife, known widely as the “Green Hell”, combined with the modern Grand Prix circuit.
For Verstappen, the entry is part passion project, part competitive challenge and part statement of intent. The Dutchman has long made clear that his interest in motorsport stretches beyond Formula One, with endurance racing, GT cars and sim racing forming an increasingly visible part of his wider racing identity.
Sky Sports reported that Verstappen has repeatedly described the Nürburgring 24 Hours as a race he wanted to contest while he still felt at the right age and physical level to take it seriously.
The move also follows his growing involvement in racing outside F1 through Verstappen Racing, the motorsport project linked to his wider competitive ambitions. In 2026, Verstappen Racing moved into Mercedes-AMG machinery and entered the Nürburgring 24 Hours with Winward Racing support.
The effect of his participation has already been felt commercially. Reuters reported that Verstappen’s debut has triggered unprecedented interest in the event, with organisers recording a historic sell-out of multi-day tickets.
That “Verstappen effect” underlines his market power beyond Formula One. The Nürburgring 24 Hours has always had deep motorsport credibility, but the presence of F1’s biggest contemporary star has pushed it into a wider global spotlight.
The event itself is brutal. The race runs over a circuit of roughly 25 kilometres, combining high-speed sections, narrow stretches, elevation changes, traffic management and rapidly changing weather conditions. The challenge is not only outright pace, but survival, discipline and judgment across day and night running.
That makes Verstappen’s participation especially interesting. In Formula One, he races in controlled sprint-like conditions over relatively short distances. At the Nürburgring, he must manage multi-class traffic, darkness, fatigue, changing grip and the tactical demands of endurance racing.
His preparation has not been casual. Verstappen previously entered qualifying and supporting races at the Nürburgring to secure the required permit for the Nordschleife, showing that even a driver of his status had to go through the licensing process attached to the circuit’s unique risks.
The Dutchman’s endurance appetite is not new. He has been heavily involved in sim racing for years and was part of the team that won the virtual Nürburgring 24 Hours iRacing event in 2024 on the same weekend as the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, before going on to win the F1 race at Imola.
That episode helped cement Verstappen’s reputation as a driver who treats racing less as a job and more as a continuous obsession.
Former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner once described him as “basically a racing machine”, after Verstappen combined virtual endurance racing with Formula One duties.
His Nürburgring entry therefore says something larger about the modern Verstappen. He is not only defending championships or collecting grand prix victories. He is increasingly shaping a career on his own terms, using his peak years to pursue races that test different skills and bring him closer to the broader racing culture he has always admired.
There is also a strategic dimension. F1 drivers have historically been cautious about racing outside the championship because of injury risk, contractual restrictions and sponsor obligations. Verstappen’s ability to pursue the Nürburgring 24 Hours reflects both his standing inside Red Bull and the trust placed in his professionalism.
Verstappen has often hinted that he does not want to spend his entire career in Formula One. The Nürburgring 24 Hours may therefore be more than a weekend experiment. It could be an early view of what his post-F1 racing life may look like: still intense, still competitive, but broader, more personal and less constrained by the grand prix machine.
