Inside Max Verstappen's radical preparation for Nurburgring 24 Hours race: No sleep for F1 star

Max Verstappen will face an entirely new challenge this weekend when the F1 great competes in the famous 24 Hours race at the Nurburgring.

The 28-year-old Dutchman has created huge publicity with his exploits already in 2026 at the famous German circuit, also known as ‘Green Hell’. Interest is so high that tickets for this weekend are sold out for the first time in the race's 56-year history.

On Saturday and Sunday (May 16 and May 17) Verstappen will take things up a further level when he lines up for the 24 Hours race.

Verstappen, along with team-mates Lucas Auer, Jules Gounon and Dani Juncadella, will require elite stamina and concentration as well as speed when they head a huge field of 161 cars on the terrifying Nordschleife circuit.

This is the first time the Red Bull superstar has driven in a 24-hour race, and it will also be the first time he has driven in a race through the night. So how does he prepare for what becomes a sleep challenge as well as a racing test? This is where Verstappen’s sim exploits come in very handy.

Nurburgring 24 Hours: Full schedule with session times for this weekend

Verstappen hits the sim and not the hay

He told Viaplay: "Of course, I have done a lot of 24-hour races on the simulator. But I do know myself: I can't sleep for six hours straight. I want to know what is always going on.”

So instead of what most of us normal human beings would describe as actual sleep, Verstappen prefers short naps instead to keep him refreshed.

"I always do two or three hours. Then try to wake up again, have a good drink and eat, and then do your stint.”

Verstappen admits he is ‘curious’ going into this weekend’s race - not only is the challenge a new one, it comes against relatively new opposition in GT3 racing. The Dutchman is fascinated to know where his team stacks up against their rivals.

"I am curious to see where we stand. The feeling is good, but you know that other teams are of course still holding back, and that is always the case.

“Of course, I hope we can just compete at the front.”

Nurburgring 24 Hours: start time and how to watch live

The big race in Germany gets under way on Saturday May 16 at 3pm local time (2pm UK, 9am Eastern in the US) and goes through to the same time on Sunday May 17.

Before that, Verstappen and his team-mates will go through qualifying on Thursday and Friday, with pole to be decided by three ‘Top Qualifying’ sessions on Friday May 15.

The race will be streamed live by organisers and we will embed the stream so you can watch every second of the action without leaving GPFans.

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