Max Verstappen was leading the Nürburgring Qualifiers before a decisive mechanical problem appeared!

For an hour and a half, Max Verstappen It was a dream come true. Starting fifth on the grid—after receiving a penalty the previous day—the Dutchman made a series of overtakes in the opening laps to seize the lead with a gap of nearly 30 seconds. The battle with Christopher Haase, driving the number 16 Audi, was particularly exciting at the start of the race. Several times, the veteran Haase tried to regain the position on the long Dottinger Höhe straight, but never managed to overtake the driver Red BullA spectacular duel, worthy of the Nordschleife's finest moments.

Everything came to a halt on the tenth lap of his second stint. Max Verstappen unexpectedly returned to the pits, far too early for a scheduled fuel stop. Mercedes BenzThe number 3 AMG was pushed into the Winward team's garage, with the Dutchman getting out of the car to make way for Lucas Auer while the mechanics worked on the front of the Mercedes-AMG. Team manager Steve Buschmann explained the situation: "We don't yet know exactly why, but we have damage to the splitter. That's why we preferred to bring the car in as a precaution, to prevent the situation from worsening."

Ultimately, it was the No. 16 Scherer Sport Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II, driven by Christopher Haase, Alexander Sims, and Ben Green, that emerged victorious—the same Haase who had engaged in a spectacular battle with Verstappen early in the race. The No. 84 ABT Lamborghini Huracán GT3, with Mirko Bortolotti, Luca Engstler, and Patric Niederhauser at the wheel, finished second, 28 seconds behind, having halved a gap of nearly 30 seconds in the third hour before the Audi extended its lead again during the final pit stop. Porsche Manthey's number 911 911 GT3 R Evo, with Thomas Preining and Matt Campbell, completes the podium after a solid end to the race which allowed it to climb from the bottom of the top 10.

Lucas Auer's impressive comeback

The number 3 Mercedes-AMG was immobilized for almost 30 minutes, definitively ending any hope of victory for the crew. When the car returned to the track with Lucas Auer at the wheel, there were still three hours of racing remaining, but the crew was in 87th place. The Austrian then delivered a strong comeback to bring the car back to 39th position at the checkered flag—a crucial effort to gather valuable data on the Nordschleife ahead of the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, scheduled for four weeks' time.

This result comes at the end of a particularly difficult period for Max Verstappen at this circuit. His first NLS2 victory was stripped after disqualification, the first qualifying race was interrupted the previous day following the death of Juha Miettinen after a violent crash in the opening laps, and this Sunday, a mechanical problem once again ruined a promising performance. The debut of the four-time world champion Formula 1 His time on the Nordschleife definitely did not go in his favor.

In addition to the sporting disappointment, this retirement forces Max Verstappen to revise his plans for the future. Without a sufficient result in Qualifiers, the Dutchman will have to go through Q1 for qualifying for the 24 Hours of Nürburgring. This is an extra step he could have avoided with a good result this weekend, and it further complicates preparations for an event that the Winward team takes very seriously. The main objective of the season remains the 24 Hours, and they will now have to take the longest route to qualify in the best possible conditions from May 14th to 17th.

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