Max Verstappen eyes Nurburgring 24 Hours qualifiers after dominant NLS2 victory
Max Verstappen has said he's looking into taking part in the qualifying races in April for the Nurburgring 24 Hours.
Max Verstappen has confirmed he’s looking into taking part in the Nurburgring 24 Hours qualifying races in April, having won the NLS2 round on Saturday.
Verstappen drove the first and final stints of the NLS2 round to pilot his Red Bull-backed Mercedes GT3 to victory by over a minute in Saturday’s four-hour endurance race.
Max Verstappen considers Nurburgring 24 Hours qualifiers after NLS2 win
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The four-time F1 World Champion was one of the three drivers behind the wheel of the Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing machines for the opening round of the Nurburgring Langstrecken-Serie, the NLS2, after the cancellation of the planned first round at the Nurburgring Nordschleife last week.
Having taken pole position for the four-hour race, Verstappen was behind the wheel for the first stint and engaged in a spirited battle with Scherer Sport’s Christopher Haase in his Audi R8.
Approaching the one-hour mark, Verstappen snatched the lead back from Haase in a thrilling side-by-side drag race down the Dottinger straight, before diving into the pits to hand over his Mercedes to Dani Juncadella.
While Juncadella emerged behind the Audi, now piloted by Nico Hantke, he quickly took back the lead and established a strong lead that was only consolidated further through Jules Gounon’s stint as the third driver on Verstappen’s team.
The Dutch driver then took back over the car for the final 45-minute stint to the chequered flag, easing the car home over a minute clear of the field as the team averaged a pace advantage of 2.28 seconds per lap over their nearest rival.
Having won his first GT3 race at the Nurburgring six months ago, Verstappen’s latest victory has given him extra experience as he prepares to enter the Nurburgring 24 Hours endurance race in May, taking place on the weekend of May 14-17 between the Miami and Canadian Grands Prix.
But, before that, there are the Nurburgring 24 Hours qualifiers on the weekend of April 18th and 19th, two races that hadn’t been initially possible for Verstappen as he was scheduled to be racing in Saudi Arabia that weekend.
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With the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix cancelled due to the conflict in the Middle East, Verstappen’s diary is suddenly freer, and he confirmed that he is exploring the option of taking part in the extra GT3 races in Germany.
“We’re looking into it. It just all depends on if it’s all feasible. But, I mean, I’m always happy to race here,” he said after climbing out of his car to celebrate in the pit lane with Gounon and Juncadella.
Having overcome technical issues with his initial Mercedes-AMG car that forced his team into a second machine, victory left the Dutch driver beaming.
“For me, this whole weekend has been about getting to grips with the car on the Nordschleife, which has been super enjoyable,” he said.
“The team also prepared the car really well, so we could do some decent testing and make me feel really comfortable with the car.
“So, yeah, really, really good experience for me today to drive here.”
Verstappen has been vocal in his criticisms of the new F1 2026 regulations, which have required drivers to adapt their driving to concentrate on energy management rather than pushing the boundaries of physics, particularly in qualifying.
It’s led many drivers, not just Verstappen, to voice their concerns about the direction F1 is heading and, after expressing his joy at being able to push flat out in the GT3 category, Verstappen was asked a loaded question about whether he had embarked on much sim work to help with the transition from “Mario Kart” to the sports car race.
Verstappen didn’t take the bait.
“I’ve done a lot of simulator work also here in the past few years, so it helps a lot when you are a rookie, and you drive here for the first time,” he said.
“If you at least know where you’re going, that helps a lot. Then it is all about just getting up to speed with the GT cars.
“But this whole venue is just amazing. And also to see all the fans, and generally just how passionate they are about racing and the cars here. It’s always fantastic to see, and I’m very happy to be a part of that.”
As for why Verstappen has chosen to latch onto GT3 racing at the Nurburgring Nordschleife, he explained that he’s long held a desire to compete at the top level of racing available at the fearsome and historic German venue.
“This is one of, let’s say, the craziest tracks in the world, in a good way,” he said.
“I’ve been watching this for a very long time, and it’s one of these races that you just want to compete in.
“Finally, this year, I have the chance to do it. It also depends a bit, of course, on what the [F1] calendar allows me to do. I’m already, of course, racing a lot, so I’ll try to do as much as I can.”
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