Max Verstappen to officially race in Mercedes as special request granted

It has been confirmed that Max Verstappen will compete in this year's Nurburgring 24 Hours with Mercedes following extensive GT3 testing last year.

Verstappen endured a nightmare start to the new 2026 F1 season, recovering to sixth in the race after starting in 20th due to a crash in qualifying.

The Dutchman has been hyper-critical of the new 2026 regulations, and is pushing the FIA to take action with discussions on changes to take place after the Chinese Grand Prix.

However, Verstappen doesn't have all his eggs in F1, with confirmation today that the 28-year-old will compete in the Nordschleife enduro between May 14-17th in a Mercedes GT3.

This comes after two outings at the Nordschleife last year, first gaining his GT3 licence before competing in a round of the Nurburgring Endurance Series which he won from third in a Ferrari.

Verstappen will team up with factory drivers Lucas Auer and Jules Gounon for the event, with the trio heading for a practice outing for the NLS2 later this month.

The preliminary outing was originally scheduled for the same weekend as the Japanese Grand Prix, but it has been brought forward a week to March 21st at Mercedes’ request, to allow Verstappen to take part.

“The Nurburgring is a special place," Verstappen said following the announcement.

Max Verstappen testing a Mercedes AMG GT3 (credit: getty)

"There’s no other track like it, the 24h Nurburgring is a race that’s been on my bucket list for a long time, so I’m really thrilled we can make it happen now."

He added: "Last year, I was able to get my DMSB Permit Nordschleife and participate in NLS9, that we won."

Verstappen praised the preparation Red Bull have allowed him to have, with the four-time world champion also highlighting the support from Mercedes AMG after signing a multi-year deal with the supplier last year.

"That preparation is very valuable, as we have learned a lot that we can take into our programme this year with NLS2 and the 24-hour race," he continued.

"We’ve got a strong line-up with Dani, Jules and Lucas and great support from Red Bull and Mercedes-AMG Motorsport, now it’s about putting in the right preparations before the events, so we can maximise everything in the races."

Mercedes customer racing head Stefan Wendl added: "We are very proud that Max Verstappen and his team are also part of the AMG line-up.

"With the start of an intensive test programme in southern Europe at the end of February, the foundation has been laid for a successful outing at the Nurburgring."