Max Verstappen’s begin on the Nurburgring 24 Hours now relies upon solely on an NLS date and Mercedes is combating for his entry within the endurance basic.
With Winward’s announcement that it’s going to contest the 24-hour race on the Nordschleife because the Mercedes-AMG Efficiency Staff, one other piece of the puzzle has fallen into place for Verstappen’s deliberate look. Though solely the sister automobile was offered initially, the Verstappen challenge is now in its decisive part.
In response to data from Motorsport.com’s sister title Motorsport-Whole.com, Verstappen has not solely acquired the inexperienced mild for the challenge from Mercedes and the Pink Bull System 1 group, but additionally from the father or mother Pink Bull firm. This leaves the ultimate hurdle for his Nurburgring participation: whether or not he can compete in one of many preparatory races, which is a situation for the four-time world champion.
Hearsay has it that Mercedes is making efforts on the highest stage; Mercedes-Benz boss Ola Kallenius and motorsport chief Toto Wolff are mentioned to have lobbied for Verstappen to postpone the NLS season opener on 14 March, which at present clashes with the Chinese language Grand Prix.
NLS boss on postponement: ‘Request has now been made’
Mercedes-AMG has made an official request to the NLS to postpone the NLS1 race date. At the moment, all three NLS races and the 2 qualifiers earlier than the 24-hour contest conflict with the F1 calendar.
Rumours that the postponement of NLS1 has already been determined and solely particulars stay to be clarified have been denied by collection boss Mike Jager: “The request for a potential postponement has now been submitted, however nothing greater than that.”
It’s because quite a few pursuits now must be taken into consideration, for instance, one racing collection has blocked dates. If NLS1 is postponed, it will likely be by one week, to 21 March. Climate allowing within the Eifel area, the race would then happen on the weekend between the F1 races in China and Japan.
“We’re at present wanting into this, however nothing has been determined but,” mentioned Jager. “It has to go well with everybody.”
Verstappen Racing
24-hour race: Which AMG drivers will Verstappen select?
However what does Verstappen’s AMG plan for the Nurburgring 24 Hours seem like? The Dutchman is alleged to be placing collectively his Mercedes-AMG group companions himself.
Verstappen is known to need DTM runner-up Lucas Auer, who was the strongest AMG driver within the 2025 standings. The pair additionally know one another effectively and have been rivals within the 2014 System 3 European Championship, the place Verstappen completed third and Auer was fourth.
One doubtless candidate can be sim racer Chris Lulham, with whom Verstappen celebrated his NLS victory in the Emil Frey Ferrari. Mercedes works driver Jules Gounon, who acted as a reference for Verstappen throughout the AMG exams in Estoril, and veteran Daniel Juncadella are additionally mentioned to be taking part in a task within the plans.
Verstappen veto in opposition to Maro Engel?
Juncadella performs a particular position within the challenge: the previous AMG driver, who can be sitting within the Genesis hypercar within the 2026 World Endurance Championship, can be good associates with Verstappen due to their shared ardour for sim racing and is taken into account his confidant along with his AMG experience.
However one particular person Verstappen is believed to not need is Maro Engel. The 40-year-old is without doubt one of the quickest drivers on the Nordschleife, but after Verstappen’s first Nurburgring check there was a disagreement between the pair on social media: Engel claimed that the highest instances have been achieved with a extra beneficial stability of efficiency from the DTM.
Verstappen examined Mercedes a day earlier than Ford launch
Engel is about to share his Winward Mercedes in Ravenol design, which even his father helped to create, with manufacturing unit drivers Luca Stolz, Fabian Schiller and Maxime Martin. The Verstappen automobile will – if it involves fruition – compete within the colors of Verstappen.com Racing. Haribo might additionally play a task as a sponsor within the challenge.
Though the ultimate go-ahead for the challenge remains to be pending, Verstappen is leaving nothing to likelihood in the mean time: on Tuesday and Wednesday, the F1 star collected additional mileage within the Mercedes-AMG GT3 utilized by 2 Seas in Portimao to get used to the automobile.
Even the truth that he was anticipated at Ford’s F1 launch in Detroit on Thursday could not deter him. And the hassle might repay: Verstappen skilled rain and dry situations within the Algarve that weren’t in contrast to these within the Eifel.
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