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Toto Wolff and Mercedes are among the parties lobbying the Nurburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS) to postpone the first race of their 2026 season in March. This would allow Max Verstappen to compete in the Nurburgring 24 Hours race later in the year.

According to a report from Motorsport-Total, Verstappen has been cleared to race for Winward Racing, the Mercedes-AMG Performance Team. Mercedes and Red Bull's F1 operations have green-lit the programme, which would see the four-time F1 world champion take to the grid at the Nurburgring 24 Hours in May.

However, while Verstappen now has his NLS license after his race debut last year, the 28-year-old faces another problem. To compete in the 24-hour race, drivers must turn out in one of the preparatory races, but as things stand, all three NLS races before the endurance event clash with the F1 schedule.

With changing the F1 calendar out of the question due to the intense logistical demands, Mercedes bosses Ola Kallenius and Wolff have reportedly lobbied for NLS to move its season opener, currently set to clash with the Chinese Grand Prix on March 14th.

According to Mike Jager, the NLS boss, a request to postpone NLS1 has already been made. "The request for a possible postponement has now been submitted, but nothing more than that," he confirmed. "We are currently looking into this, but nothing has been decided yet. It has to suit everyone."

If the NLS opts to postpone the race and accommodate Verstappen's participation, the event will be moved to the following weekend on March 21st. This will place it between the F1 Grands Prix in China and Japan.

Verstappen has been clear about his intentions to race in the Nurburgring 24 Hours since making his NLS debut in 2025. "I like racing in general, also outside of F1," he said at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after obtaining his NLS permit.

"I knew that if I wanted to get my permit, I needed to do that race, and we just went about it. It was all organised very well. They were all very helpful as well from the organisation side. Every lap that you do around there is a different kind of experience, so for me it was still very useful even though people say the car is down-tuned and it must be very boring.

"Of course, the car is not the most exciting to drive, but I look at it in a different way. You try to then focus on other things that might be useful in the future when you go there with a proper car. I had fun, it's a nice environment to be in, a bit different to F1."