Disillusioned with F1, Max Verstappen is about to start his longest motor race yet

Max Verstappen and Daniel Juncadella with their Mercedes-AMG GT3 car ahead of the 2026 Nürburgring 24 Hours Red Bull Content Pool Share articleAt 28, Max Verstappen has already established himself as one the greatest drivers in Formula 1 history. But this weekend, he’s embarking on a very different challenge. In recent years, Verstappen has been increasingly active in racing away from F1. The four-time world champion has competed in a number of sports car events with his own team, Verstappen Racing, as well as building a sim racing squad for online racing competitions. This week, he will enter his first 24-hour sports car race at the Nürburgring in Germany. Across the race’s duration, Verstappen will share duties behind the steering wheel of a Mercedes-AMG GT3 car with Daniel Juncadella, Lucas Auer and Jules Gounon. “It’s going to be an amazing moment to be a teammate of a four-time world champion,” Gounon told reporters at last week’s World Endurance Championship round in Belgium. “It’s something special.” The Nürburgring 24 is one of the hardest sports car races in the world, up there with the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The event uses the fearsome Nordschleife layout of the Nürburgring track. Known as the ‘Green Hell’, it is 12.9 miles long and has about 70 turns. Verstappen has already had a taste for racing at the Nürburgring. He took part in several smaller races there last year, taking one victory, and returned in March for a warm-up race ahead of the 24-hour event. Racing alongside Juncadella and Gounon, Verstappen’s car crossed the line first after four hours, but was later disqualified due to a tire rule infringement. “It’s a dream come true to race with such an amazing talent,” Juncadella told reporters in Belgium. “It seems to be a very competitive car this year. We’ll try our best.” It’s rare for active F1 drivers to compete in other racing events. Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for Toyota while still racing in F1 in 2018, having also entered the Indianapolis 500 the previous year (he entered the race again while taking an F1 sabbatical in 2019). And Audi’s Nico Hülkenberg won Le Mans in 2015 as a one-off entry with Porsche. Otherwise, few have dared stray outside of F1 in the modern era, in part due to the long season and specific demands of grand prix racing, which takes place over shorter distances and with just one driver per car. Yet Verstappen has continued to carve out the time to explore outside pursuits. He had tested GT sports cars privately for years, but only in the past two years has he entered real races. A future Le Mans entry is already in his mind. Particularly at a time when he is disillusioned with the current state of F1 and is actively thinking about his future in the category, lower-level sports car racing scratches a competitive itch for Verstappen. “He’s a competitive animal and he will one day want to enter all the big races,” said Juncadella. “I think Nürburgring is the one that is most exciting for him, in the sense that it’s easier to prepare (for) because it’s a one-off race, not part of a championship.” But preparations for a 24-hour race are nevertheless demanding. It’s not even necessarily about driving a car as quickly as possible over such a distance. It’s everything else that comes with it, such as ensuring concentration does not slip at any point, especially when lapping slower cars. In such contests, one second going wrong can undo hours of good work. “Nürburgring is a mental toughness race, with all the slow cars that you need to manage, the traffic, the changing conditions,” said Juncadella. “Psychologically it’s a hard race.” The hubbub around Verstappen’s entry this weekend will also bring some fresh challenges. The race organizers have already announced it is a weekend sell-out for fans, a first in its history, while the number of journalists attending is also set to be higher than usual. Juncadella thought the key for Verstappen would be “managing the week, the expectations and just trying to be calm” despite the extra attention. He also noted the differences to taking part in a 24-hour race versus a grand prix, which typically last from 90 minutes to two hours. “He’s used to very short races, a lot of adrenaline in a very short time,” said Juncadella. “In a 24-hour race, sometimes you go through so many emotions in a long period and that’s hard to manage sometimes.” It makes something as basic as rest very important to manage for an endurance driver. “I remember my first 24-hour races, I couldn’t sleep because I was excited because we were leading, and that’s something that might happen,” said Juncadella. “That’s where I think he relies a lot on our experience.” Juncadella did say he thought Verstappen may not even sleep at all during the 24 hours “because he likes to be watching, he likes to follow, (and) his adrenaline stays consistently on. But he’s done 24-hour races in the past in sim racing, so that also helps in terms of understanding the rest times you need through a 24.” The one thing that is in zero doubt is Verstappen’s ability and speed behind the wheel. Despite how different a slower and heavier closed cockpit GT3 car performs compared to an F1 single-seater, the Dutchman has quickly proved why he is so highly regarded. Clips of Verstappen’s overtakes quickly circulated after each of his previous Nürburgring outings, including a pass made with two wheels on the grass at an event last year. “I’ve known him for long enough to not be surprised at all, but it blows your mind when you see him do it,” said Juncadella. “It’s just natural. He’s enjoying it, he’s confident and when he’s in that state of mind you can see what he’s able to do.” With rain forecast for much of this weekend’s race, which starts at 3 p.m. local time on Saturday, another curveball may be thrown into Verstappen’s 24-hour debut. But both he and his co-drivers are prepared. “We have a good line-up,” said Gounon. “At the end of the day, in those big races, I think the track and the place chooses its winners. You just have to go there, hope that you’re going to get picked, and do a good job.” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms