Why is F1 champion Max Verstappen driving for Mercedes at the Nurburgring?

Credit for photo: Mercedes-Benz AG — Photo: © IMAGO

Max Verstappen

Why is F1 champion Max Verstappen driving for Mercedes this weekend?

Max Verstappen is stepping away from F1 on Saturday to race a Mercedes

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Friday 20 March 2026 17:59 Updated: 20:08

Four-time champion Max Verstappen is taking a weekend away from racing in F1 to return to the Nurburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS) for the opening round of 2026.

NLS1 was set to take place as the season opener on the Green Hell last weekend, but the event was cancelled due to freezing conditions, making this weekend's NLS2 the first round of the campaign.

NLS2 was previously postponed until Saturday, March 21, so that the competition fell between the Chinese Grand Prix and the Japanese Grand Prix, with the gap on the F1 calendar allowing Verstappen to race at the iconic German circuit once again.

Less than a year ago, the Dutchman earned his racing licence for the GT3 class, with his debuting proving his pure talent and natural prowess behind the wheel.

In September 2025, Verstappen took advantage of a two-week break in the F1 calendar to get behind the wheel of a Ferrari 296 GT3 to compete in the NLS, bringing a huge viewership boost to the series and securing victory on debut.

As the Dutchman returns to the iconic track in 2026, he will be driving a Mercedes, but why is he getting behind the wheel of rival machinery once again when he is a Red Bull athlete?

WATCH: Max Verstappen Nurburgring LIVE - Free NLS race streams and everything you need to know

How has Verstappen got permission to race a Mercedes from Red Bull?

After racing a Ferrari at the Nurburgring last year, Verstappen will now compete in a Mercedes-AMG GT3 this weekend under the new team name of Verstappen Racing, previously known as Verstappen.com Racing.

This is because the Dutchman's squad has switched from Ferrari to Mercedes machinery, with Verstappen Racing now a factory-supported Mercedes-AMG outfit that offers valuable experience in endurance racing ahead of his debut at the legendary Nurburgring 24 Hours in May.

Since announcing his entry into the iconic endurance race later this year, Verstappen has always spoken openly about his intentions to get as much competitive running in as possible ahead of the big event.

And that shakedown of sorts will come this Saturday as he returns to the NLS with Mercedes, entirely with the blessing of his Red Bull F1 team who encourage his passion for a variety of motorsports and take no issue with the Dutchman's running considering it does not violate any terms of his F1 contract.

Speaking at last weekend's F1 Chinese GP, Verstappen's Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies gave an interesting insight on the team's view of Verstappen's Nurburgring plans.

When asked how much convincing the F1 team needed to allow their star driver to enter the Nurburgring 24 Hours, Mekies replied: "He doesn’t need to convince us, really. It’s enough to speak a few minutes with Max and you see his face lighten, his eyes lighten when he talks about racing cars. It doesn’t matter what type of cars.

"We have seen it last year. He has done it quite a few times in between the races. You would think it’s taking energy from him, but in fact he comes back with more energy to the racetrack. He is in love with the sport, and it’s a great reminder to all of us that we are all motorsport fans. He’s a motor sport fan and he loves spending his free weekends racing."

Does Verstappen's new Mercedes partnership increase the chances of an F1 team switch?

Judging by Mekies' comments in Shanghai, Red Bull are not concerned in the slightest that Verstappen's racing antics away from the F1 calendar could result in his relationship with the Silver Arrows strengthening.

Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff made no secret of attempting to poach Verstappen from the energy drink giants last season, though the four-time champion has consistently maintained he would prefer to see out the remainder of his F1 career having only raced for one outfit.

As Mekies pointed out, Verstappen's Nurburgring entries allow him to return to his F1 campaign refreshed, something he certainly needs after picking up a measly eight points across the opening two rounds of the 2026 campaign.

Having picked up his first DNF of the year in F1 last weekend, the NLS2 race on Saturday will provide the 28-year-old with a welcome opportunity to enjoy racing again, having previously stated that the new F1 regulations made driving the 2026 cars 'completely emotionally draining'.

How to watch Verstappen's Nurburgring race

You can watch Verstappen's GT racing exploits right here on GPFans, with the below stream set to go live at around 11:15 CET (10:15 GMT) on Saturday, March 21.

Alternatively, you can catch the action on the official NLS YouTube channel, while live timings and onboard feeds of the cars will be available on their website, meaning you can follow Verstappen's full journey around the 21 kilometre track.

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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