Red Bull F1 driver Max Verstappen is yet to arrive in the Nurburgring area ahead of his appearance in this weekend\u2019s Nurburgring 24 Hours, PlanetF1.com understands.<\/p>\n
It comes after reports had claimed that Verstappen was forced to miss a pre-event parade on Wednesday due to overcrowding fears.<\/p>\n
Max Verstappen to miss Nurburgring 24 Hours press conference<\/p>\n
Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google<\/a> to your favourites list for news you can trust<\/p>\n Verstappen will make his debut in the Nurburgring 24 Hours this weekend, sharing a Red Bull-branded Mercedes-AMG GT3 car with teammates Jules Gounon, Lucas Auer and Daniel Juncadella.<\/p>\n The on-track action will begin tomorrow (Thursday) with Qualifying 1 and Qualifying 2 ahead of the race start at 1500 local time on Saturday.<\/p>\n Festivities ahead of the 24 Hours began on Wednesday afternoon with a ceremonial parade in the nearby town of Adenau.<\/p>\n Preview: Max Verstappen takes on Nurburgring 24 Hours<\/p>\n Nurburgring 24 Hours: Everything you need to know about the world\u2019s most chaotic endurance race<\/a><\/p>\n Nurburgring 24 Hours schedule 2026: Full timetable, qualifying and start time<\/a><\/p>\n Verstappen and his Verstappen Racing teammates were notable absentees from the parade.<\/p>\n Reports had claimed that Verstappen and his teammates had been discouraged from attending the festivities due to concerns that his popularity could pose a safety risk.<\/p>\n However, PlanetF1.com understands from sources close to the situation that Verstappen and Juncadella are yet to arrive in the area ahead of this weekend\u2019s race.<\/p>\n Verstappen will also not appear in Thursday\u2019s pre-event press conference at the Nurburgring.<\/p>\n Maro Engel, Christopher Haase, Kelvin van der Linde, Thomas Preining and former F1 driver Timo Glock are scheduled to appear in the press briefing, with Verstappen\u2019s name absent from the list issued to reporters at the German circuit.<\/p>\n PlanetF1.com has learned that Verstappen is not expected to give any interviews at the Nurburgring beyond appearances in the obligatory post-qualifying and post-race press conferences should he finish inside the top three.<\/p>\n Additional reporting by Thomas Maher<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n