Penalized three places, Verstappen will start ninth for the first Nürburgring Qualifiers race.

This weekend will not be restful for Max VerstappenCompeting with his team in the NLS with the ambition of competing in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, he is present this weekend for the Nürburgring Qualifiers. The session was marked from the outset by a 55-minute red flag, following a violent accident involving...Aston Martin No. 39 at Adenauer Forst, requiring significant repairs to the guardrails. It was in this context that Lucas Auer first took the wheel for the Mercedes Benz-AMG GT3 No. 3 of Verstappen Racing. Despite the disruption, the Austrian's provisional time — an 8:13.0 — initially placed him fifth, 3,5 seconds behind the fastest time set by the No. 23 BMW, which was then in pole position.

Max Verstappen then replaced Auer in the cockpit with less than 45 minutes remaining on the clock, but the four-time World Champion Formula 1 failed to improve on his teammate's time. A surprising underperformance for someone who had easily secured pole position in his first NLS2 appearance at the Nürburgring. Ultimately, the Verstappen-Auer pairing finished sixth, behind the #23 BMW which managed to maintain its first position, the #11 and #47 Mercedes, and the Porsche number 48 and the Mercedes number 80.

An investigation that threatens their starting position

The day took an even more difficult turn with the stewards' decision. During Auer's stint, the number 3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 made contact with the number 941 Adrenalin team's Porsche Cayman during an overtaking attempt at Hohe Acht. The contact was violent enough to cause the Porsche to lose control and crash into a wall. The incident was immediately investigated by race control, leaving the starting positions of the two cars uncertain for several hours before a decision was reached.

The penalty has finally been handed down: a three-place grid penalty for causing a collision. Verstappen and Auer, who should have started sixth after an already disappointing session, drop to ninth. A difficult starting point for a four-hour race scheduled to begin at 17:30 PM, especially since the stakes for the weekend go beyond the immediate result. The 24H Qualifiers partly determine access to the final qualifying phase of next month's 24 Hours of Nürburgring—some teams can secure their place directly depending on their results this weekend.

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