F1 champion Max Verstappen gives update over Nurburgring return after shock disqualification

Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen gives update over Nurburgring return after shock disqualification

Max Verstappen was disqualified from the NLS2 race last weekend

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Tuesday 31 March 2026 19:55

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Four-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen has opened up on when he might make a competitive return to the Nurburgring Nordschleife.

Verstappen raced in an NLS2 race at the track last weekend for his own racing team, with Daniel Juncadella and Jules Gounon his team-mates for the event.

They managed to take a pole position-race victory double in the event on-track, but were later stripped of it through a disqualification after exceeding the maximum tyre usage limit.

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With Verstappen seemingly not enjoying F1's new rule changes, his GT Racing exploits are becoming more important to him, and he is the owner of the Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing.

Now, Verstappen has revealed when he might return to the Nurburgring Nordschleife, ahead of the iconic 24 Hours of Nurburgring race that he has signed himself up for in May.

Qualifiers for that race - which include two four-hour races as well as qualifying sessions - are on the weekend of April 18-19, and Verstappen has now hinted that he will be there, with a five-week break from F1 coming up following the cancellations of the Saudi Arabian and Bahrain Grands Prix.

"At the moment, only Lucas (Auer) would be in the car, so I’d feel a bit sorry for him if he had to do everything on his own because Dani and Jules can’t be there," Verstappen told media at the Japanese Grand Prix.

"It would make sense if I could take that on."

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Verstappen taking racing exploits 'more serious'

Since the start of 2026, both Verstappen's GT Racing team and his sim racing team have undergone name changes, and they are both much more aligned with the racing superstar's name.

It's part of what Verstappen has recently claimed is a 'more serious' approach to his team ownership role.

Following Gold Cup success in the GT World Challenge Europe last year, drivers Chris Lulham, Juncadella and Gounon are set to compete in the pro class together in 2026.

The team will drive the Mercedes-AMG GT3 in another change to last year, with Gounon one of the greatest GT3 racers of all time, and Aston Martin F1 simulator driver Juncadella having had previous success in the Mercedes GT3 cars.

Lulham is a by-product of the previously named Team Redline sim racing team - now called Verstappen Sim Racing - and Verstappen recently reiterated his commitment to the belief that sim racing drivers can forge a career for themselves in real-life racing series.