Max Verstappen returns to Nürburgring on final day of his 24-hour debut

Max Verstappen flew from Toulon-Hyères Airport to a private airstrip near the Nürburgring on Sunday morning, landing at 11:01 UTC after a 1-hour 28-minute hop in his Dassault Falcon 900EX, PH-DTF. The short flight from the French Riviera brought him back to the Eifel region on the final day of the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, where he is making his debut in the legendary endurance race.

The timing is no coincidence. Verstappen is sharing a Mercedes-AMG GT3 with Jules Gounon, Lucas Auer, and Daniel Juncadella under the Verstappen Racing banner, and the race — which started Saturday at 15:00 local — has drawn a sell-out crowd for the first time in its 56-year history, per a Yahoo Sports report. Organizers cited Verstappen’s presence as the primary driver of demand, with weekend tickets gone weeks ago and a record 161-car field. Safety concerns also prompted him to miss pre-race fan events, as covered by GPFans.

The Sunday return flight caps a busy week for Verstappen. Earlier, on May 12, he flew from Amsterdam to Milton Keynes for a lightning visit to the Red Bull factory, per GPFans, before heading to the Nürburgring on May 14. A brief hop to Monaco on May 14 preceded this morning’s return — a final dash to the Green Hell to see the race through to its Sunday afternoon finish.