The Road to the Nürburgring 24 Hours
How Max Verstappen turned a GT3 passion into a real endurance racing journey
For years, Max Verstappen's connection with the Nürburgring existed mostly in the background.
While Formula 1 remained his world, endurance racing slowly became his obsession. He spent countless hours driving GT3 machinery in sim racing, talked openly about wanting to race at Le Mans and the Nürburgring one day, and gradually built something bigger around that passion through Verstappen Racing.
The Nordschleife was always part of the picture.
Not because it was glamorous, but because it represented one of the hardest challenges in motorsport.
The Nürburgring 24 Hours is not a race you casually enter. Drivers have to earn permits, learn traffic management across multiple classes, adapt to changing weather, and survive nearly 25 kilometres of unforgiving tarmac for an entire day. For Verstappen, that challenge became impossible to ignore.
And when he finally arrived at the Nordschleife in real-world GT racing, he immediately showed he belonged there.
The Ferrari debut that started everything
In September 2025, Verstappen made his GT3 debut in NLS9 at the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
Driving a Ferrari 296 GT3 with sim racer Chris Lulham under the Verstappen.com Racing banner, he entered one of the most difficult environments possible for a first GT3 race: a multi-class endurance event around the Nordschleife.
He won immediately.
Verstappen qualified near the front, took the lead early, controlled the pace, and together with Lulham delivered victory on debut in the four-hour race. It was not treated like a celebrity cameo. It looked like a driver who had spent years preparing for the moment.
That victory changed the perception around the project.
Suddenly, the idea of Verstappen racing the Nürburgring 24 Hours no longer felt hypothetical.
It felt inevitable.
Switching to Mercedes-AMG and raising the level
By 2026, the project had evolved.
Verstappen Racing aligned with Mercedes-AMG machinery, entering the Nürburgring programme with a Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo and experienced endurance teammates including Dani Juncadella, Jules Gounon, and Lucas Auer. The goal was now clear: prepare properly for the Nürburgring 24 Hours.
And almost immediately, Verstappen looked fast enough to win again.
During NLS2 in March 2026, the Verstappen Racing Mercedes dominated the race and crossed the finish line first after strong battles at the front of the field. But the celebration did not last. Hours later, the car was disqualified after the team exceeded the permitted tyre allocation during the event.
The result disappeared from the standings, but the message remained clear.
The speed was real.
The rivalry with Christopher Haase
As Verstappen spent more time at the Nordschleife, another storyline started to develop.
Christopher Haase.
The experienced Audi endurance specialist became one of Verstappen's main rivals in the NLS races leading up to the 24 Hours. Their battles quickly became some of the most talked-about moments of the season — two different worlds colliding: one of Formula 1's biggest stars against a Nürburgring specialist who knew every corner of the circuit intimately.
During NLS5 in April 2026, Verstappen and Haase traded the lead in a tense fight through traffic at the front of the race. Verstappen managed to move ahead and briefly controlled things after a decisive overtake.
But once again, the Nürburgring reminded everyone how unforgiving it can be.
Damage to the splitter on Verstappen's Mercedes caused a major loss of performance and ultimately destroyed their chances of victory. What had looked like another statement win turned into another frustrating near-miss.
That sequence almost perfectly captures Verstappen's Nürburgring journey so far.
Fast enough to win. Not yet rewarded consistently.
Why the 24 Hours matters so much
That is what makes this Nürburgring 24 Hours debut feel different from a normal guest appearance.
This is not an F1 driver showing up for publicity.
This is the continuation of a story that has been building step by step:
- ◆Earning his Nordschleife permit
- ◆Winning on GT3 debut in a Ferrari
- ◆Switching manufacturers and raising the level of co-drivers
- ◆Fighting experienced endurance specialists over a full season
- ◆Losing victories through disqualification and damage
- ◆Returning each time with even more commitment
The journey has already included success, frustration, controversy, and hard racing.
Which is exactly what makes endurance racing special.
For Verstappen, the Nürburgring is not simply another track on the calendar. It is a challenge he has spent years chasing — first virtually, then gradually in real life, and now finally at the biggest endurance event of them all.
And that is why his Nürburgring 24 Hours debut feels less like a new chapter and more like the destination the story was always heading toward.
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