Max Verstappen and the WEC save the weekend
There will be no Formula 1 on the weekend of April 19, but racing fans will certainly have plenty of high-quality action to enjoy. Not only the thrills of the WEC which starts the 2026 season with the 6 Hours of Imola, but also Max Verstappen will save yet another weekend without a GP: the Dutchman from Red Bull will indeed take to the track at the Nurburgring Nordschleife for the double round of the NLS championship called “Qualifiers” which is the final step before the 24 Hours scheduled at the Green Hell on May 16 and 17.
Verstappen will be engaged in a double 4-hour race, taking place both on Saturday the 18th and Sunday the 19th of April. A very important event to fine-tune preparations ahead of the Nordschleife 24 Hours as it will allow Max to race in low visibility conditions after sunset, but also to smooth the collaboration mechanisms with teammate Lucas Auer, the fourth member of the Verstappen.com Racing team crew (completed by Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella) for the 24 Hours, who was not present in previous races.
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Details of the weekend appointments
All races will be broadcast live on the official NLS channels – the championship that organizes endurance races all year round exclusively at the Nurburgring Nordschleife – and on FormulaPassion.it, with the possibility to simultaneously follow both the official event streaming with English commentary, and the full on-board footage from the Mercedes-AMG GT3 number 3 driven by Max Verstappen and Lucas Auer. Below are the appointments to follow the weekend live:
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- Friday, April 17: free practice from 12:15 to 14:45;
- Saturday, April 18: qualifying-1 from 8:30 to 10:00;
- Saturday, April 18: race-1 from 17:30 to 21:30
- Sunday, April 19: qualifying-2 from 8:15 to 9:45 and top-qualifying to follow
- Sunday, April 19: race-2 from 13:00 to 17:00
