Max Verstappen will compete at the 24 Hours of Nurburgring in 2026, the Dutchman and his team, Verstappen Racing, announced. The team will use a Mercedes-AMG GT3 at the Nordschleife.

The car will be fielded together with Winward Racing. The team will compete in the Nurburgring Langstrecken-Serie in preparation for the 24-hour event. They will enter NLS1, NL2 and 24h Nurburgring Qualifiers. Verstappen himself will also drive at NLS2, that no longer clashes with the Japanese Grand Prix.

George Russell led Kimi Antonelli home at last weekend's Australian Grand Prix, with Mercedes therefore scoring a 1-2 finish, taking home the maximum points available in the Constructors' Championship.

Russell argues that Lando Norris' opinion would differ on the 2026 F1 cars if McLaren had the same advantage as last year. "Yeah, well, he’s always… yeah, yeah. I don’t know. If he was winning, I don’t think he’d be saying the same."

The Mercedes driver continued: "We weren’t happy with how stiff the cars were last year and the porpoising, and everyone had a bad back and drivers were complaining about that, but McLaren drivers said there was no porpoising even though we watched their car and they were porpoising. "So, you know, everyone’s always looking to themselves and we’re all selfish in this regard."

Red Bull team boss Laurent Mekies shared an update on what caused Max Verstappen's Q1 incident at the Australian Grand Prix. The four-time world champion was puzzled after the incident in Turn 1, during which he lost control of the RB22 entering the corner.

After the session, Verstappen told GPblog: "I just hit the pedal and the whole rear axle just completely locked, which is very weird, I mean I've never experienced that in my whole life."

Mekies explained to GPblog after the race, where Verstappen finished sixth after starting 20th: "100% I would not say that we have the reason, but it's getting pretty close. We think it's a combination of factors. We've tried a couple of changes to stay on the safe side for the race."

Want to stay up-to-date with what happens in the F1 paddock? Then GPblog's F1 Paddock Update video is the perfect way to do it. Subscribe to GPblog's YouTube channel and turn on notifications to never miss the latest episodes.