Max Verstappen says his participation in the Nürburgring 24 Hours is in doubt.

The four-time F1 champion has long been involved in endurance racing and is actively racing and testing in GT3, but full preparation for the Nordschleife marathon coincides with the Formula 1 calendar. The preparation races coincide with the F1 stages and the Dutchman does not want to go to the start without them.

“It’s very difficult to give a definitive answer right now,” Max said.

“I would like to start well prepared, but the preparation races coincide with Formula 1. Therefore, this year I will only be able to participate in the race if there is a change in the calendar.”

Therefore, Verstappen’s participation in the 2026 Nürburgring 24 Hours is still in doubt and directly depends on possible changes in the program or compromises between Formula 1 and the marathon training program.

One of the two new teams on the Formula 1 grid is preparing to introduce its car for the 2026 season. The Audi team will officially reveal the new car at a special event in Berlin on Tuesday, January 20.

Audi has fully taken over Sauber’s project ahead of the 2026 season and will start its first Formula 1 championship as a factory team and power unit manufacturer. The team has also retained a significant portion of its 2025 Sauber structure, including team boss Jonathan Whitley and drivers Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg.

This will make Audi the fourth team to submit designs for its 2026 car, after Red Bull, Racing Bulls and Haas. The presentation will take place in the German capital in the format of a full-fledged seasonal launch.

Following the main event, a separate event will be held in Berlin on Wednesday, January 21 for selected fans and media to take a closer look at the new car and its livery.

The presentation will start on January 20 at 20:00 Kyiv time. During the event, the team will reveal the car’s full design for the 2026 season.

Let’s remember that Audi had previously put the 2026 car on the track during promotional races at the Barcelona-Catalonia circuit in early January, but only a limited number of images were released at that time.

Formula 1. Presentation of the first Audi car. Watch LIVE online

Formula 1 driver Nico Hulkenberg can count on a multimillion-dollar bonus in his first season with Audi if he can repeat the results in the 2025 season.

Last season, the German pilot reached the Formula 1 podium after 250 races for the first time in his career and finished the British Grand Prix in third place. At Silverstone, Hulkenberg was ahead of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and scored 15 points in one go.

Hulkenberg scored 51 points at the end of the 2025 season.

On the eve of Audi’s first season, specialized media reported that the 38-year-old pilot signed a contract providing a bonus of 50 thousand euros for each point earned in the 2026 season.

Given the large-scale changes in Formula 1, even the pilots themselves cannot yet predict the balance of power in the peloton. However, if Hulkenberg scores 51 points again, the bonus can reach 2 million 550 thousand euros in addition to his base salary at Audi.

If Nico manages to win the race and score the maximum 25 points, this will immediately earn him a bonus of 1,250,000 euros.

The team will present the appearance of its first car today at 20:00 Kyiv time.