Max Verstappen flies to Amsterdam ahead of Nürburgring 24 Hours debut

Max Verstappen flew from Cranfield Airport to Amsterdam Schiphol on May 12, a 53-minute hop in the Falcon 900EX PH-DTF. Cranfield sits a short drive from Red Bull Racing’s Milton Keynes factory, where Verstappen likely attended to F1 duties before turning his attention elsewhere.

The same week, Verstappen is set to make his debut in the Nürburgring 24 Hours, an event that has sold out weekend tickets for the first time in its 56-year history, per [RacingNews365](https://racingnews365.com/max-verstappen-creates-unprecedented-demand-at-nurburgring-24-hours). The four-time world champion will drive a Mercedes-AMG GT3 for Verstappen Racing alongside Lucas Auer, Jules Gounon, and Daniel Juncadella, as [PlanetF1](https://www.planetf1.com/news/max-verstappen-nurburgring-24-hours-entry-endurance-racing-explained) reports. Organisers turned away entries as the 150-car field filled up, with the SP9 GT3 class swelling to 41 cars.

Verstappen has spent months preparing, including NLS rounds and SimRacing, and has been open about his enjoyment of GT3 racing’s level playing field, as [Yahoo Sports](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/real-reason-f1-star-max-103424135.html) notes. The Amsterdam stopover likely precedes a short onward journey to the Nordschleife, where the 24-hour race begins Thursday. For a driver who has already achieved everything in Formula 1, this is a different kind of challenge — and one that has already broken attendance records before the green flag drops.