How to Watch the 2026 Nurburgring 24 Hours Live — Watch Here For Free
Max Verstappen has spent the 2026 F1 season making headlines for all the wrong reasons – calling the new regulations “anti-racing” and referencing Mario Kart – but this weekend he gets to do something that clearly matters more to him than any of it. He makes his debut in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring between May 14 and 17, 2026. The event sold out for the first time in its 50-plus-year history the moment Verstappen’s entry was confirmed, and the race deserves the attention.
The Nürburgring 24 Hours is run on the combined layout of the Nordschleife and the modern Grand Prix circuit, forming a lap of roughly 25. 3 km – one of the most demanding endurance circuits in the world, blending FIA-grade infrastructure with a semi-permanent road course that runs through dense forest, with 73 corners and around 300 metres of elevation change per lap. It features 150 cars across multiple classes, with professional and amateur drivers competing on the same circuit simultaneously.
It is not a sterile prototype showcase. It is organized chaos with a finishing flag at the end. Verstappen will race for CP Racing in a Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, sharing driving duties with Dani Juncadella, Jules Gounon, and Lucas Auer.
While it is his debut in the race itself, the four-time world champion has already shown what the car can do, during April’s qualifiers, he led the field for 90 minutes before some technical issues intervened. The pace is clearly there. Whether the machinery holds together for 24 hours is a different question entirely.
When the Action Starts and How to Watch It Free The action begins on Thursday, May 14, with the first qualifying session running from 13:15 to 15:15 local time – that’s 12:15–14:15 UK or 7:15–9:15 a. m. Eastern.