Nürburgring 24H Qualifying 1 results: Schiller tops Q1 in the Green Hell

The green light at the end of the pit lane has finally illuminated, officially kicking off the racing action for the 2026 ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring.

When the dust (and hail) settled, it was Fabian Schiller in the No.80 Ravenol Mercedes-AMG who topped the timing sheets, laying down a formidable 8:14.9 before the skies opened up.

Qualifying 1 Results: Overall Top 10

Here is how the top of the leaderboard looked at the end of a frantic Q1:

1st: No.80 Mercedes-AMG Team Ravenol -- 8:14.9

2nd: No.1 ROWE Racing BMW -- +3.1s

3rd: No.3 Verstappen.com Winward Racing Mercedes -- +3.5s

4th: No.99 ROWE Racing BMW -- +3.6s

5th: No.911 Manthey Racing Porsche -- +6.7s

6th: No.130 Red Bull Team ABT Lamborghini -- +7.0s

7th: No.77 Schubert Motorsport BMW -- +11.6s

8th: No.64 HRT Ford Mustang -- +11.7s

9th: No.16 Scherer Sport PHX Audi -- +12.1s

10th: No.17 Dunlop Motorsports Porsche -- +12.2s

A Session of Two Halves: Practice for GT3s, Do-or-Die for the Rest

If you are new to the Nürburgring 24H format, Q1 can be a bit confusing. For the top-tier SP9 (GT3), SP11, SP-Pro, and SP-X classes, this session effectively serves as a high-stakes practice run. Their actual starting grid positions will be fiercely contested in tomorrow's Top Qualifying (TQ1, TQ2, and TQ3) shootouts.

However, for the rest of the massive 161-car grid, the pressure is very real. Their final grid spot is determined by their best lap time combined across this session, tonight's Qualifying 2, and tomorrow's Qualifying 3.

Track Quirk to Watch: To help teams maximize their flying laps without being forced to complete endless 8-minute out-laps, organizers placed cones on the main straight. This allows drivers to take a "shortcut" at the end of the GP loop, turning right back onto the main straight to start a hot lap immediately instead of plunging straight into the Nordschleife.

Code 60 Chaos and a Massive Shunt

It didn't take long for the unforgiving Nordschleife to bite. Early in the session, the No.24 Lionspeed GP Porsche SP9 brought out the first Code 60 after Ricardo Feller crashed on the early part of the circuit, requiring a flatbed recovery.

Things took a much scarier turn shortly after. Alexander Hardt suffered what appeared to be an overheating engine in his No.900 Black Falcon Cup 2 car, pulling off to the side of the GP loop. As he stood beside his stricken car attempting to signal marshals, the No.146 Giti Tire AT2 Porsche came through unsighted and slammed into the Black Falcon machine. Incredibly, both drivers escaped unharmed, though both cars suffered heavy damage.

Elsewhere, Christopher Mies had to park his camo-liveried No.67 HRT Ford Mustang at Schwedenkreuz with a mechanical issue that spilled fluid onto the track, requiring a swift cleanup operation by the marshals.

The stewards were also busy handing out harsh lessons. The No.440 and No.505 cars both received brutal 30-second penalties (to be served at the end of Lap 1 of Saturday's race) for speeding under yellow flags. Similarly, the No.10 VW Golf was relegated to the back of its starting group for ignoring Code 60 rules.

Verstappen's Debut and the Eifel Weather Wildcard

Due to the string of early Code 60s and damp patches, lap times hovered in the 8:40s for the first hour. But as the track cleared and gripped up, Max Verstappen showed exactly why he is a generational talent.

Halfway through the session, the Dutchman vaulted his No.3 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG to the top of the timing sheets with a brilliant 8:18.5, pulling a massive eight seconds clear of the ROWE BMWs at the time.

That green-flag window was short-lived, but it lasted just long enough for Schiller and Marciello to eventually pip Verstappen's time, dropping the F1 champ to a highly respectable P3.

Then, the legendary Eifel weather arrived to end the party. Heavy rain hit roughly a third of the way around the lap, quickly turning into a violent hail storm. In a perfect display of the Nürburgring's notorious micro-climates, cameras showed cars battling hail in the forests while the final sectors of the GP loop were bathed in bright sunshine!

The sudden downpour cemented the top times for the session, but the wet running provided invaluable data for teams preparing for what could be a very unpredictable 24-hour marathon.

What's Next?

The cars will be back out at 20:00 local time for Qualifying 2. With three and a half hours of running scheduled into the pitch-black night, expect the drivers to be pushing the absolute limits in the dark. Stay tuned!