Max Verstappen and his Verstappen Racing teammates were in almighty form on Saturday at the Nurburgring Nordschleife.
As Verstappen ramps up preparations for his Nurburgring 24 Hours debut, the four-time World Champion made a winning return to the ‘Green Hell’, playing a crucial role in his team’s victory. It was one which saw Verstappen Racing lap the field. Verstappen enjoyed a thrilling early-race battle with veteran Christopher Haase.
Max Verstappen crushes his GT3 competition
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On a free weekend for the Formula 1 drivers, Verstappen opted against putting his feet up, and instead headed for the Nordschleife, for the first Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie [NLS] race in 2026.
Verstappen won here last year in his GT3 debut. He swapped Ferrari for Mercedes machinery this time, but it was a case of different car, same result.
Verstappen qualified on pole by two seconds at the Nordschleife with his 7:51.751. It was a disrupted session, with Verstappen dodging the ‘code 60’ orders to slow to get that time on the board.
The Verstappen Racing Mercedes GT3 therefore started from pole, with Verstappen at the wheel for the opening stint.
Verstappen treated a bumper viewing audience to a gripping battle with Christopher Haase in the Audi, who took the lead from Verstappen at the start.
Verstappen re-passed the veteran almost an hour into the four-hour race, a thrilling side-by-side dash into the esses which saw Verstappen emerge as the new leader.
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As Verstappen’s first stint came to a close, Dani Juncadella took over at the wheel of the Mercedes, with a lead of six seconds. He turned that into a critical stint behind the race win, which was to later be confirmed.
The Spaniard made way for Andorra’s Jules Gounon for the next stint, with the Verstappen Racing Mercedes in a commanding position for the victory.
Heading into the final hour, the #3 Mercedes was leading by almost 40 seconds. With 43 minutes left on the clock, Verstappen got back in the car, looking to close this win out.
Verstappen had a 35-second lead to defend.
Defend, though, was not exactly what Verstappen had in mind. Instead, he continued to put distance between himself and second place, taking the lead over 50 seconds.
Verstappen took the chequered flag to win for his team by almost a minute.
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