Verstappen names the Nürburgring and Spa for 2027, and crosses off Le Mans
Le Mans is "not on my list for now", he said in Baku
Max Verstappen has picked his 24-hour races for 2027, and Le Mans is not one of them. Asked in Baku on Wednesday about his endurance plans for next year, the Red Bull driver named the two GT3 classics and ruled out the third.
“Nurburgring and Spa, probably. Le Mans, that’s not on my list for now,” Verstappen said, as reported by RacingNews365 and Crash.net. “I said already, after the race at the Nordschleife, that I wanted to go back. If it allows me to prepare well, I know there is no clash, but it still needs to work out in my schedule, then I’ll do it. And Spa is an exciting option.”
The Nürburgring is unfinished business
The Nürburgring 24 Hours is the one he means by going back. In May he shared the #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing with Lucas Auer, Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella, and the car was leading when a driveshaft broke in the closing hours. He later named it his favourite race of 2026.
| Race | 2027 dates | Formula 1 either side | Verstappen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nürburgring 24 Hours | 27 to 30 May | Canada 23 May, Monaco 6 June | “Probably” |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans | 9 to 13 June | Monaco 6 June, Portugal 18 to 20 June | “Not on my list for now” |
| 24 Hours of Spa | 24 to 27 June | Portugal 18 to 20 June, Silverstone 2 to 4 July | “Probably” |
All three dates are on our 2027 24-hour race dates page.
Le Mans needs more than a free weekend
Le Mans is free of Formula 1 too, so the calendar is not what rules it out. Verstappen set his conditions for it in September, when he told BBC Sport that he and Fernando Alonso had talked about going together: “It needs to fit our schedules. It needs to make sense, it needs to be on my terms, and there needs to be a real chance to go there and win it.”
Ford, which enters the Hypercar class in 2027, has since said it has no plans to put him in its car next year. For now, Wednesday’s answer closes the question from his side too.
Nothing confirmed for Portimão
Closer at hand, there has been talk of a GT3 outing at the GT World Challenge Europe finale in Portimão on 16 to 18 October, a free weekend between Singapore and Austin. Nothing has been confirmed. Verstappen did not mention it in Baku, and SRO has not yet published the entry list.
Our money is on the Nürburgring
Of the two, the Nürburgring is the one we expect to happen. He has the permit, the team, the car and a race he was leading when the car broke, and the date could hardly be kinder. Spa is the bigger ask: a first 24 Hours of Spa, a grid that numbered 70 cars this year and a race week that starts straight after a Grand Prix. “Probably” is the right word for both, but it carries more weight for the Nordschleife.
For the full picture of how the 2027 calendars fit together, including the NLS rounds that clash with Formula 1, see our 2027 NLS calendar and our Max Verstappen driver page.
