Max Verstappen did not waste any time making a mark on the Nordschleife. The four-time F1 world champion immediately showed an impressive pace during the first qualifying session of the 24 Hours of Nürburgring.
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For his big debut in a 24-hour race, Max Verstappen clearly did not choose a cautious approach. From the start of the first qualifying session on the legendary Nordschleife, the Red Bull driver took to the track behind the wheel of his Mercedes-AMG GT3 entered by Verstappen Racing.
Accompanied by Daniel Juncadella, Jules Gounon, and Lucas Auer, the Dutchman was highly anticipated by the tens of thousands of spectators present around the German circuit. And it took only a minute after the green light to see Verstappen launch onto one of the most demanding tracks in the world.
This first session, lasting two and a half hours, however, proved to be extremely chaotic. Between yellow flags, Code 60 neutralizations, and several impressive incidents, the drivers rarely had the opportunity to complete a completely clean lap.
A time that already impresses the paddock
It took more than an hour before Verstappen finally had a relatively clear track. And the least we can say is that he immediately made an impression.
The four-time world champion set a lap time of 8’18’’539, putting the competition more than eight seconds behind. At that moment, Jordan Pepper held the provisional best time with his BMW M4 GT3 from the Rowe Racing team.
This performance quickly confirmed what many already suspected: Verstappen immediately has the pace needed to compete at the front on the Nordschleife, despite his lack of endurance experience compared to the specialists of the discipline.
For a long part of the session, his time even seemed untouchable.
A session end disrupted by rain
But in the final minutes, several competitors finally managed to improve on the Dutch driver’s time. Fabian Schiller, behind the wheel of the Mercedes-AMG GT3 from Team Ravenol, set the best reference with 8’14’’957.
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Raffaele Marciello, also entered with Rowe Racing, also went under Verstappen’s time by a few tenths.
The Red Bull driver had, however, left the cockpit some time earlier after handing the car over to his teammates Daniel Juncadella and then Jules Gounon. Track conditions then became much more difficult with the arrival of rain, preventing most teams from further improving their times.
Very promising debut before the big battle
Even though he ultimately finished third in this first session, Verstappen sent a very clear message to the competition: he will be a serious contender for victory this weekend.
For several months, the Dutchman has been meticulously preparing this first participation in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring through various GT3 races on the Nordschleife. And his performances so far continue to confirm his natural speed on this extraordinary track.
The goal will now be to turn this speed into a solid result over the full 24 hours, a completely different exercise where traffic management, reliability, and weather conditions play a crucial role.
But after this first demonstration, one thing already seems certain: Max Verstappen did not come to Nürburgring simply to discover endurance racing.
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