Max Verstappen and Lucas Auer have been handed a three-place grid penalty for an incident in qualifying at the Nurburgring.<\/p>\n
Verstappen and Auer qualified sixth on the road behind the wheel of the Red Bull-branded Mercedes-AMG GT3 car in Saturday morning\u2019s qualifying session as the Red Bull F1 driver returned to the German circuit.<\/p>\n
Max Verstappen and Lucas Auer hit with Nurburgring grid penalty<\/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 The pair ended the session more than three-and-a-half seconds adrift of pole position, with Verstappen unable to improve on Auer\u2019s earlier time.<\/p>\n After a lengthy red flag stoppage, Auer was seen making contact while attempting to overtake another car following the resumption of the session.<\/p>\n Verstappen and Auer have been hit with a three-place grid penalty as a result following a stewards\u2019 investigation, leaving the pair down in ninth on the grid.<\/p>\n Go deeper: Max Verstappen\u2019s frustration with the F1 2026 rules<\/p>\n The signs that Max Verstappen is closer than ever to quitting F1<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018Pretty terrible\u2019 \u2013 The Max Verstappen F1 2026 warning that went ignored<\/a><\/p>\n The first of two four-hour Nurburgring 24 Hours qualifier races is scheduled to begin at 1730 local time in Germany.<\/p>\n Saturday\u2019s race will see Verstappen compete at the Nordschleife at night for the first time before a second race is held on Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n Verstappen\u2019s latest brush with the stewards comes after his car was disqualified on his last visit to the Nurburgring last month.<\/p>\n The Red Bull driver dominated an NLS race, along with teammates Daniel Juncadella and Jules Gounon, during a break in the F1 calendar in March.<\/p>\n However, the trio were excluded from the official classification after being found to have used seven sets of tyres \u2013 one more than the permitted maximum of six \u2013 over qualifying and the race combined.<\/p>\n Verstappen\u2019s latest trip to the German circuit comes as he prepares for his debut in the Nurburgring 24 Hours next month.<\/p>\n The endurance classic will be held across May 14-17, falling in the break between F1\u2019s Miami and Canadian grands prix.<\/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