Max Verstappen’s night is coming

The Dutchman will race again this weekend on the Nürburgring Nordschleife with the Mercedes GT3 and for the first time he will participate in a night event.

Back in January, Max Verstappen’s agenda had Saudi Arabia as its destination for the weekend of April 18 and 19. However, the war in the Middle East changed F1’s plans: the Bahrain and Jedah events were canceled and the fourth month of the year was left with a total blank of Grand Prix (the visit to Saudi land could be rescheduled for the end of the year and a series of consecutive competitions could be set up). The World Cup break suited the Dutchman perfectly, who then decided to participate in the qualifying races for the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, which will be held this weekend at the Green Hell of the Nürburgring.

For the four-time champion it will be the chance to drive at night for the first time on the 25 kilometer route, at least in reality. Because he already did it in the virtual 24 Hours, in which he usually participates. The challenge will not be less for the Dutchman, who had the long-duration race on the German track for quite some time as one of the goals he wanted to achieve. His commitments with F1 did not give him time, but this time the appointment is the weekend of May 17 and 18, just a target on the Formula 1 calendar and he decided to make the bet.

Last year he took the mandatory course to obtain the license, competed in a competition in a minor class with a Porsche to be able to make the jump to the major division and competed in one of the NLS events (the annual Nordschleife championship) with Ferrari. By 2026, with a great hand from Toto Wolff, he closed ranks with Mercedes to drive a GT3 from the German brand. Verstappen raced in NLS2, the second round of this year, and won, sharing the car with Daniel Juncadella and Jules Gounon, although a few hours later they were excluded for using one more set of tires than allowed in the total activity (qualifying and race).

This weekend, Max will participate in the qualifying races, the name given to the competitions listed as the fourth and fifth dates of the NLS season (the 24 Hours are not part of the tournament agenda). Although they are called qualifying, they are not used to create the starting grid or anything like that. For this race, Verstappen will be accompanied by Lucas Auer, official Mercedes-AMG driver. Juncadella and Gounon will be in Imola for the first round of the WEC (the Spaniard races with Genesis and Gounon, with Alpine). For the May race, the four runners will make up the crew.

There will be two different races this weekend, one on Saturday and the other on Sunday. Each competition will have its own classification, prior to the competition. Saturday’s event will end in the German night (at 9 p.m.) and Sunday’s event will take place completely during the day.

Verstappen, the loudest voice raised against the new F1 regulations, will once again enjoy racing cars at the Nürburgring. “This reminds me what real motorsport is. “I get out of the car and I’m happy, and that’s what I’m trying to achieve, instead of getting out of the car and feeling a little disappointed,” the Red Bull driver told AM850 UK. during the Japanese GP. Regarding his ambition to race in the 24 Hours, he said: “I have been following the goal for a long time. At the beginning, in F1, I wanted to be successful and win. That was my only goal. But now I can do something more about it. This was, in fact, the first real opportunity to do it.”

Verstappen received approval from Red Bull to be able to participate in a competition outside of his workplace. “They saw how passionate I am about it. So it wasn’t hard to convince them.”

Max spoke about Lambiase’s departure

Verstappen will arrive at the Nürburgring after learning that GianPiero Lambiase, his track engineer at Red Bull for ten years, will leave Milton Keynes to move to McLaren from 2028. The news was known a week ago, but the Dutchman had not made any public comments on the matter. Finally, the former champion spoke with Viaplay: “He asked for my approval. He told me what kind of offer he had received. I said, ‘You’d be a fool not to accept it.’ We’ve done everything together and now he’s getting a fantastic offer, especially considering his family and the security it would bring him.”