Max Verstappen's start at the Nurburgring 24 Hours now depends solely on an NLS date and Mercedes is fighting for his entry in the endurance classic.
With Winward's announcement that it will contest the 24-hour race at the Nordschleife as the Mercedes-AMG Performance Team, another piece of the puzzle has fallen into place for Verstappen's planned appearance. Even though only the sister car was presented initially, the Verstappen project is now in its decisive phase.
According to information from Autosport's sister title Motorsport-Total.com, Verstappen has not only received the green light for the project from Mercedes and the Red Bull Formula 1 team, but also from the parent Red Bull company. This leaves the final hurdle for his Nurburgring participation: whether he can compete in one of the preparatory races, which is a condition for the four-time world champion.
Rumour has it that Mercedes is making efforts at the highest level; Mercedes-Benz boss Ola Kallenius and motorsport chief Toto Wolff are said to have lobbied for Verstappen to postpone the NLS season opener on 14 March, which currently clashes with the Chinese 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. Currently, all three NLS races and the two qualifiers before the 24-hour contest clash with the F1 calendar.
Rumours that the postponement of NLS1 has already been decided and only details remain to be clarified have been denied by series boss Mike Jager: "The request for a possible postponement has now been submitted, but nothing more than that."
This is because numerous interests now have to be taken into account, for example, one racing series has blocked dates. If NLS1 is postponed, it will be by one week, to 21 March. Weather permitting in the Eifel region, the race would then take place on the weekend between the F1 races in China and Japan.
"We are currently looking into this, but nothing has been decided yet," said Jager. "It has to suit everyone."
24-hour race: Which AMG drivers will Verstappen choose?
But what does Verstappen's AMG plan for the Nurburgring 24 Hours look like? The Dutchman is said to be putting together his Mercedes-AMG team partners himself.
Verstappen is understood to want DTM runner-up Lucas Auer, who was the strongest AMG driver in the 2025 standings. The pair also know each other well and were rivals in the 2014 Formula 3 European Championship, where Verstappen finished third and Auer was fourth.
One likely candidate is also 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 during the AMG tests in Estoril, and veteran Daniel Juncadella are also said to be playing a role in the plans.
Verstappen veto against Engel?
Juncadella plays a special role in the project: the former AMG driver, who will be sitting in the Genesis hypercar in the 2026 World Endurance Championship, is also good friends with Verstappen thanks to their shared passion for sim racing and is considered his confidant with his AMG expertise.
But one person Verstappen is believed to not want is Maro Engel. The 40-year-old is one of the fastest drivers on the Nordschleife, yet after Verstappen's first Nurburgring test there was a war of words between the pair on social media - Engel claimed that the top times were achieved with a more favourable balance of performance from the DTM.
Verstappen tested Mercedes a day before Ford launch
Engel is set to share his Winward Mercedes in Ravenol design, which even his father helped to create, with factory drivers Luca Stolz, Fabian Schiller and Maxime Martin. The Verstappen car will – if it comes to fruition – compete in the colours of Verstappen.com Racing. Haribo could also play a role as a sponsor in the project.
Even though the final go-ahead for the project is still pending, Verstappen is leaving nothing to chance at the moment: on Tuesday and Wednesday, the F1 star accumulated further mileage in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 used by 2 Seas in Portimao to get used to the car.
Even the fact that he was expected at Red Bull's F1 2026 livery launch in Detroit on Thursday couldn't deter him. And the effort could pay off: Verstappen experienced rain and dry conditions in the Algarve that were not unlike those in the Eifel.
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