Max Verstappen will take on the Nurburgring 24 Hours this weekend in a Red Bull-branded Mercedes-AMG GT3 car as he continues his racing exploits outside of Formula 1.
Verstappen has made six outings at the Nordschleife in the last 12 months to prepare for the iconic endurance race which begins at 2pm on Saturday and will be free to watch live on the Sky Sports app.
Since becoming a four-time F1 world champion at the end of 2024, Verstappen has ramped up his pursuit of conquering some of motorsport’s biggest events.
He’s been clear, even since his early F1 days after making his debut as a 17-year-old in 2015, that he wants to race in other motorsport categories at an age where he’s still fast and competitive.
“All the big endurance races I want to do, it’s something that when I was a kid, my dad was doing them,” Verstappen said in March earlier this year.
“I don’t need to be only an F1 driver, I can also do other things. I’ve done this already for a while, achieved everything I want to achieve so that’s why I want to explore other things and I don’t want to do them when I’m 40 years old. Now is the perfect age to do it.”
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Watch highlights as Verstappen takes on the NLS2 Race at the Nürburgring
What to expect from the Nurburgring 24 Hours
The Nurburgring 24 Hours is one of the biggest endurance races in the world. This year, 161 cars have been entered to tackle the 15.769-mile circuit which three-time F1 world champion once called “The Green Hell”.
It is unrelenting and regarded by many as the toughest racing track in the world – one which F1 used to race at until 1976 when Niki Lauda had a fiery accident that caused serious injuries.
There are 23 different car classes at the Nurburgring 24 Hours and Verstappen’s team is racing in the top class, which feature the fastest cars – including several Mercedes-AMG GT3, Porsche 911 GT3 R, BMW M4 GT3, Ferrari 296 GT3 and Lamborghini Huracan GT3 cars.
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Verstappen explains how he overtakes in a GT3 car
For the top class drivers, weaving their way through the slower cars from the other car classes is a major part of the race, because accidents can easily happen as they try to make overtakes on the tight Nordschleife circuit. At night, this only gets harder…
The best place to overtake is on the 1.333-mile Dottinger Hohe straight which sees the cars reach over 190mph. Verstappen had a great battle with Christopher Haase in one of the NLS races earlier this year at this part of the track as the pair tried to sidedraft each other.
During pit stops, there could be a driver change as the team changes tyres and adds fuel to the car. Barring any issues, a GT3 car can last around an hour on a full tank of fuel.
Driver changes are part of endurance racing during pit stops (Red Bull Content Pool)
Verstappen’s exploits outside of F1
Verstappen lives and breathes racing.
He regularly competes in sim racing for Team Redline, a European professional sim racing team, and is one of the best sim racers in the world.
“It keeps me ready to go, because I’m spending a lot of time also then on the setup,” he said.
“I’m not racing a Formula 1 car on the simulator, but it’s like GT cars, so it’s also a different technique of driving.
“I just keep testing myself, and especially these sim drivers… they’re so quick! It’s very interesting to see them drive because they have no real experience of a car but, somehow, when you look at how they’re braking, how they’re controlling, it is how it should be.”
Verstappen in action at the Nordschleife earlier this year (Credit: Red Bull Content Pool)
Verstappen was part of the team that won the Nurburgring 24 Hours iracing event in 2024 on the same weekend as the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola. He may have had less sleep than the other F1 drivers but it did not stop him from holding off Lando Norris to take an important victory.
“He’s basically a racing machine,” said former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner at the time.
“It’s quite often he’s testing different setups in the evening and this type of thing. So it’s not unusual for him to do that.”
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Verstappen narrowly held off Lando Norris to win the 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
What about Verstappen’s future outside of F1?
Verstappen has also tested prototype cars – the category which the overall winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours comes from – and is keen to compete in the famous endurance race in the future.
Perhaps that could come within the next few years as Ford will enter the World Endurance Championship’s top class and compete at Le Mans from 2027.
Ford are a technical partner with Red Bull and their F1 power unit, so you can see how that link may lead to a Le Mans outing for Verstappen.
Other endurance races such as the Daytona 24 Hours in Florida and the Spa 24 Hours in Belgium have been mentioned by Verstappen in the past too, which is part of the reason there has been talk of the Dutchman taking a sabbatical from F1.
Verstappen has a Formula 1 contract with Red Bull until at least the end of 2028, but there are release clauses (Red Bull Content Pool)
After a disappointing start to the current F1 season and frustration with the new regulations, Verstappen suggested at the end of March he was considering his future in the sport.
F1 have since made tweaks to the power unit regulations and will make further changes from next year which should rectify Verstappen, and other drivers’ concerns over the racing and driving style that the new engines have created.
Verstappen has a contract with Red Bull until the end of 2028, although Sky Sports News understands there are performance clauses which would allow him to leave earlier.
Could the 28-year-old still walk away from F1 altogether and spend a year, or two, racing in other motorsport events before returning to F1? It must have crossed his mind…
Formula 1 next heads to Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix and another Sprint weekend. Watch live on Sky Sports F1 on May 22-24. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
