Mercedes could now help rival series attract Max Verstappen amid ‘significant’ investment

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Supercars Australia chiefs are now making a serious push to convince Max Verstappen to enter the 2027 Bathurst 12 Hours, following his debut in the Nurburgring 24 Hours.

Verstappen made his first appearance in the Nurburgring 24 Hours last weekend in a one-off entry sharing a Mercedes GT3 EVO with Lucas Auer, Jules Gounon and Dani Juncadella. His team also had a chance of winning with three and a half hours remaining at the Nordschleife.

A driveshaft failure cost Team Verstappen Racing a chance to win the Nurburgring 24 Hours, as their sister Winward Racing entry – driven by Maro Engel, Maxime Martin, Fabian Schiller and Luca Stolz – inherited the lead and went on to win the N24 by more than two minutes.

Verstappen has drawn widespread praise for his Nurburgring 24 Hours debut, having shown lots of speed throughout his stints against a field stacked with talented GT3 drivers. The Red Bull F1 racer’s cameo at the Nordschleife has also piqued the interest of another race series.

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Supercars Australia is ‘serious’ about Max Verstappen entering the 2027 Bathurst 12 Hours

That is according to Auto Action (May 2026, page 4), which reports that Supercars Australia is now making a ‘serious’ push to convince Verstappen to enter the 2027 Bathurst 12 Hours next February. Series executives have taken Verstappen’s interest in the race as the go sign.

READ MORE: The best moments of Max Verstappen’s career in Formula 1

Supercars Australia is even investing ‘significant resources’ into making Verstappen’s debut in the Bathurst 12 Hours at the legendary Mount Panorama Circuit a reality. There is a real push among series bosses to make it happen, and Mercedes could even yet play a key role.

Jamie Whincup, the managing director of the Red Bull and Ford-affiliated Triple Eight Race Engineering team, has confirmed to Auto Action that T8 are not currently involved in any of the discussions being held among series bosses to try to get Verstappen to race at Bathurst.

Instead, the ‘most natural’ way for Verstappen to enter the 2027 Bathurst 12 Hours would be for the four-time F1 champion to enter his own team like he did at the Nurburgring 24 last weekend. But Verstappen’s threats to retire from F1 could harm Supercars Australia’s plan.

While Red Bull allowed Verstappen to race at the Nurburgring, him joining a rival team for 2027 may see them block the Dutchman from racing in a rival series for fear of him getting injured. But if Verstappen were to join Mercedes in 2027, a cameo at Bathurst could occur.

It is suggested that Verstappen’s relationship with the Mercedes GT3 division would only be ‘reinforced’ if he joins the Mercedes F1 team, instead of retiring, in 2027. While his contract with Red Bull runs through 2028, the team could yet be powerless to stop him from leaving.

Verstappen will have from August to October to trigger a release clause in his contract with Red Bull if he enters the 2026 summer break ranked outside the top two in the F1 drivers’ standings. Currently, the 71-time Grand Prix winner is just P7 and he trails P2 by 54 points.