Max Verstappen News: Four race absences confirmed for F1 champion in 2026

Max Verstappen

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Four race absences confirmed for Max Verstappen in 2026

Max Verstappen will miss four races

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Tuesday 30 September 2025 08:13 Updated: 22:03

Four race absences have been confirmed for F1 champion Max Verstappen in 2026 due to conflicts on his competition schedule.

The Dutchman blew audiences away once again on Saturday at the Nurburgring Nordschleife, where, alongside team-mate Chris Lulham, the pair took victory in the 57th ADAC Barbarossapreis.

In the ninth round of the Nurburgring Langstrecken-Serie, Verstappen put on a dominant display to win with a 24.496-second margin over second place finisher, Jann Mardenborough.

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Verstappen competed in his Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3, after earning his DMSB Permit A two weeks prior.

However, Verstappen’s race on Saturday may be his last GT3 appearance for the foreseeable future, with conflicts in the champion’s schedule.

Verstappen to miss bulk of 2026 NLS season

In 2026, there is a majority of NLS races clash with a F1 weekend, with Verstappen obviously prioritising a grand prix over endurance racing.

So far, Verstappen will be absent from four NLS races, with the NLS1 coinciding with China on March 14, NLS2 with Japan on March 28, NLS3 with Bahrain on April 11, and NLS4 and NLS5 with Saudi Arabia.

Crucially, NLS4 and NLS5 are the so-called Nurburgring 24 Hours qualifiers, two four-hour races leading up to the actual event - which takes place from May 15 to May 17, 2026.

Luckily for Verstappen however, the qualifiers don't determine the starting grid for the race, and it's not mandatory to participate in them.

The Nurburgring 24 Hours also does not clash with a F1 weekend, and is sandwiched between the Miami and Canadian Grands Prix, freeing up Verstappen to compete.

However, if Verstappen does take part, he will do so with little preparation in the rounds prior, but can compete in subsequent rounds in NLS6 on June 20 and NLS7 on August 1.

NLS8 and NLS9 clash with the debut grand prix in Madrid on September 12 and 13, and NLS10 also clashes with the Singapore Grand Prix on October 10.

Verstappen.com Racing has informed GPFans that Max's future plans in GT3 racing will be announced later.

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