{"id":555304,"date":"2026-03-21T16:53:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T16:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/555304\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T16:53:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T16:53:10","slug":"f1-champion-max-verstappen-left-laughing-after-nurburgring-triumph","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/555304\/","title":{"rendered":"F1 champion Max Verstappen left laughing after Nurburgring triumph"},"content":{"rendered":"

Max Verstappen<\/a> will start today’s 58th ADAC Barbarossapreis at the Nurburgring on pole after setting the fastest time in qualifying on Saturday morning. <\/p>\n

\nThe No.3 Mercedes<\/a>-AMG Verstappen Racing team, also comprised of Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella, will lead the field for the opening round of the Nurburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS). <\/p>\n

\nUPDATE: Verstappen, Juncadella and Gounon won the 2026 NLS2 race at the Nurburgring. You can read all about the race and see the full results here.<\/a> <\/p>\n

\nNLS2 marks the first round of the season after the NLS1 race was cancelled due to freezing conditions. Initially, Juncadella secured the top spot during qualifying with an 8:01.310 lap. However, a lengthy Code 60 in the final chicane, triggered by a crash, stalled any further improvements. <\/p>\n

\nVerstappen and Gounon took turns completing set laps while the No.3 car slid back to 15th place; but in the closing phase Verstappen managed to pull off an astonishing 7:51.751 lap time<\/a> to put his team back on top. <\/p>\n

\nAfter qualifying Verstappen then shared his thoughts with the media, including GPFans, and was seen laughing after his pole position lap. <\/p>\n

\nHe said: “There\u2019s always an element of luck when it comes to traffic here. I didn\u2019t encounter much on my lap, and I even crossed the finish line one second before another Code 60 came into effect. <\/p>\n

\n“The car feels great. I still need to build more experience with it, but we\u2019re in a strong position to attack. With the sun shining, it all feels perfect. Driving on a track like this gives you an incomparable thrill.” <\/p>\n

\nWATCH: Max Verstappen Nurburgring LIVE – Free NLS race streams and everything you need to know<\/a> <\/p>\n

Verstappen back on top in GT3<\/p>\n

\nVerstappen has appeared a far more laid back figure since his arrival in Germany, seen laughing and smiling amongst reporters at the Nurburgring. <\/p>\n

\nCompare this to his F1 paddock appearances, where Verstappen has complained of being ’emotionally drained’ and that the 2026 cars are not fun to race<\/a>, the NLS2 weekend offers a reprieve for the four-time champion. <\/p>\n

\nThe joy of setting a pole lap was very clear on his face when his Mercedes came to a standstill at the end of qualifying, with onboard footage capturing Verstappen who took a moment to let the achievement sink in<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\nStill, Verstappen has a four hour endurance race ahead of him, where he will be hoping to win once again at the Nurburgring after his victory as a debutant in September last year<\/a>. <\/p>\n

When is Verstappen competing in the 2026 NLS2 race?
\n
\n Max Verstappen Nurburgring Timetable
\n
\n
\n Date
\n Local Time (CET)
\n UK Time (GMT)
\n Session
\n
\n
\n
\n March 2111:4210:42Formation lap
\n March 2112:0011:00Race start
\n March 2116:0015:00Race finish
\n <\/p>\n

How to watch Verstappen’s Nurburgring race<\/p>\n

\nYou can watch Verstappen’s GT racing exploits right here on GPFans. <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nAlternatively, you can catch the action on the official NLS YouTube channel, while live timings and onboard feeds of the cars will be available on their website, meaning you can follow Verstappen’s full journey around the 21 kilometre track. <\/p>\n

Will Verstappen race at the Nurburgring again?<\/p>\n

\nYes! Verstappen will compete at the Nurburgring 24 Hours<\/a>, which is scheduled between May 14 and May 17 – a weekend prior to the F1 Canadian Grand Prix. <\/p>\n

\nOnce again, Verstappen will get behind the wheel of the No.3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 car alongside alongside Juncadella, Gounon and Lucas Auer. <\/p>\n

\nREAD MORE: Aston Martin issue statement moments after Wheatley Audi exit<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSheona Mountford is a motorsport journalist specialising in F1. As a writer and contributor, she covers a wide range of motorsport series from F1 to F1 Academy, responsible for breaking news, live race coverage and in depth analysis of the sport and the culture around it.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tView full biography\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRelated\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Max Verstappen will start today’s 58th ADAC Barbarossapreis at the Nurburgring on pole after setting the fastest time…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":555305,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,817,813,816,825,945,44,11525,85],"class_list":["post-555304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-max-verstappen","tag-mercedes","tag-news","tag-sheona-mountford","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=555304"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555304\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/555305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=555304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=555304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=555304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}