What to watch out for at the 2026 Nurburgring 24 Hours

This weekend witnesses the return of the Nurburgring 24 Hours and the historic event is certainly receiving more fanfare than usual due to the inclusion of Formula 1 star Max Verstappen.

The four-time world champion is making his debut at the race aboard a factory-supported Winward Mercedes, run under the Verstappen Racing banner.

He is sharing the GT3 alongside endurance veterans Jules Gounon, Lucas Auer and Daniel Juncadella, amid a completely stacked grid of 161 cars - the most since 2014.

So here are five things to look out for at the 54th edition of the race.

The obvious talk of the paddock

There is only one name on the lips of everybody at the Nordschleife this weekend and that is Verstappen. It is simply obvious what his entry has done for the event, which has attracted more international media than ever with general admission tickets quickly selling out, many of those going to fans who’ve not really been exposed to endurance racing before.

That can only be a good thing for the world of GT3 and ex-F1 driver Timo Glock, who is competing this weekend, even suggested that German motorsport should be “thankful” for the Dutchman. A similar viewpoint was held by Verstappen’s co-driver Auer, who claimed “we are entering a golden era” for the discipline thanks to the increased eyeballs.

#3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing, Mercedes AMG GT3 EVO: Max Verstappen

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

“This is amazing,” Auer added. “A lot of spectators and I really think we are entering a golden era. It's good that due to Max, more people are watching and seeing what a great show we are actually delivering.”

Those at the Nordschleife are unlikely to see Verstappen in the flesh though, as his team skipped the traditional pre-race event over safety concerns due to his huge popularity. People are also unlikely to hear much from him considering he’ll only partake in a media session if it’s mandatory - a top three driver press conference, for example.

So he’s simply here for the fun of it, but that’s part of what makes this such a cool story that he would contest it for pure excitement when he could easily relax on a non-F1 weekend. It’s therefore fair to say that the fans and Verstappen’s co-drivers are relishing it all, as Gounon said: “The first practice, I went to look [at] Max going out of the pitlane and I look at the grandstand on a Thursday afternoon.

“Normally, first few practices, yes, there are a lot of people because it's a big race, but not full. It was full here. So it's just something special and I think this race has always been special, but with Max, it's extra special.”

But Verstappen being talked about doesn’t guarantee victory…

The Verstappen Racing #3 Mercedes is being tipped for victory, but it’s far too early to place such an expectation on the car. Just because Verstappen is in Germany and being talked about, that doesn’t guarantee success as 24-hour races are simply manic: with 2017 being the perfect example.

Nine years ago, the heavens opened up with 20 minutes remaining, but the top two cars - WRT Audi and Rowe Racing BMW - had already made their final planned pitstop so risked it by staying on slicks, compared to the Audi Team Land garage fitting wets onto its #29 R8.

#3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing, Mercedes AMG GT3 EVO: Max Verstappen, Daniel Juncadella, Jules Gounon, Lucas Auer

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

That was the key for its victory, as Kelvin van der Linde sliced through the field for his first win and it showed how everything can just turn on its head. The race was predominantly dry that year, but then rain suddenly fell and one good strategic call made all the difference.

It doesn’t matter how much of the 24-hour contest a car leads, it can lose its advantage in an instance, particularly when the Nordschleife, located in the Eifel forest, has such unpredictable weather - which has already been seen this weekend. One moment it’s been dry, the next it’s wet and then all of a sudden, hail has started falling.

“I really believe that all the 24-hour races, it's something that's meant to be - the place needs to choose you,” said Gounon, who has twice won the Spa 24 Hours. “At the end of the day, you need a bit of luck to win the 24 hours. I lost many 24 hours where I really thought that I was going to have them.

“I'm doing sprint and endurance races, which is something very different, and in endurance, I really feel...at the end, you need to provoke your luck, that's clear. But I feel in those big races where there's a lot of aura from the place, the place needs to choose you.”

Who could challengeVerstappen for the win?

If the Verstappen car doesn’t win, thus continuing an ongoing 10-year winless streak for Mercedes at the event, then who could? It’s hard to not look at the Nurburgring 24 Hours’ most successful manufacturer in BMW, which has won a record 21 times including last year via Raffaele Marciello, Van der Linde, Augusto Farfus and Jesse Krohn.

Marciello, Van der Linde and Farfus have all returned in 2026 aboard the Rowe Racing M4, this time with Jordan Pepper as the fourth driver, and are expected to be one of the crews in the mix thanks to a strong start with second in Thursday’s running.

Rowe Racing BMW

Photo by: Christian Kaspar-Bartke/Getty Images

But a driver(s) hasn’t won this race back-to-back since the Manthey Racing Porsche crew of 2008-09 (Romain Dumas, Marc Lieb, Timo Bernhard and Marcel Tiemann), showing it really is anybody’s game.

“The statistic doesn't give us more confidence, but definitely it motivates us to try and change the statistics and try to change the history,” said Van der Linde. But if it’s been hard to go back-to-back in previous years, the South African thinks 2026 presents an even greater challenge due to the sheer volume of entries.

“It's more difficult to finish the race without issues,” he added. “You have more potential obstacles during the race, the weather obviously last year was very stable, a dry race makes it easier for us, now we have to deal with the mixed conditions which is going to be an absolute nightmare from a driver's perspective to drive at night.

“So just a lot more variables this year than last year that can go wrong and I think that's just going to make the race a completely different race.”

The challenge for victory is far from a two-horse fight either, as the sister Winward Mercedes of Maro Engel, Maxime Martin, Fabian Schiller and Luca Stolz topped the Thursday sessions. Rowe’s other BMW (Dan Harper, Max Hesse, Sheldon Van Der Linde and Dries Vanthoor) was also up there at the front, as was the #911 Mathey Racing Porsche of Matt Campbell, Kevin Estre, Ayhancan Guven and Thomas Preining.

BTCC champion prepares for ‘biggest race of his life’

Jake Hill, Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport BMW 330i M Sport

Photo by: JEP

Jake Hill is a big name in British motorsport thanks to 12 years in the BTCC paddock with 23 wins, 287 starts and the 2024 title - but in 2026 he has embraced change. The 32-year-old has transitioned into sportscar racing and is contesting the 24H Series having already entered rounds at Mugello and Spa, alongside starts in the Nurburgring Endurance Series.

His racing in the latter is key, because Hill is also making his debut at this weekend’s event by competing in the Pro-Am class of the top SP9 category alongside Patrick Kolb, Kyle Tilley and Max Hofer aboard Lionspeed GP’s Porsche 911.

The Briton has experience in a title decider or two, but even that pales in comparison to the challenge ahead of him this weekend with Hill clearly relishing the move from “someone relatively big in a small pond” to “absolutely nobody in a massive pond”.

He said: “Fighting for a British Touring Car Championship and going into that deciding race is a big one, it's as big as it gets for the UK, really.

“But in terms of the amount of people here, the calibre of drivers, the calibre of teams, all the manufacturers, it has to be the biggest race I've done. It has to be. It's pretty special and I've always wanted to do it.”

It’s been a pretty rough start to his season though with two DNFs in the 24H Series due to a lower suspension failure at Mugello, while Spa saw co-driver Dwight Merriman crash before Hill even jumped in the Era Motorsport Ferrari 296.

So looking ahead at this weekend, Hill claims the “main thing is to finish”. “We are desperate to finish the race,” the Kent native added. “That would be just incredible to say we managed to get across the line. That in itself is a huge task.”