Verstappen settles for third in opening Nürburgring 24 Hours qualifying session

Max Verstappen ended the opening qualifying practice session for the Nürburgring 24 Hours in third position, a creditable but ultimately imperfect debut on the Nordschleife as he and his team-mates navigated a session riddled with interruptions.

A Disrupted Session on the Green Hell

It was not until the first hour had passed that Verstappen finally found clear enough track to show his pace in earnest. His effort of 8:18.539s instantly shot to the top of the timesheets, eight seconds faster than the leading time at that stage, which had been set by Jordan Pepper in Rowe Racing's BMW M4 GT3. For a lengthy period, it appeared as if the Dutchman would hold on to pole position in the session.

Late Charge Drops Verstappen to Third

With around thirty minutes remaining, however, the picture changed. Fabian Schiller, driving the second Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Team Ravenol, demoted Verstappen from the top with a time of 8:14.957s — nearly four seconds faster. Shortly thereafter, Raffaele Marciello of Rowe Racing also dipped below Verstappen's benchmark by just under half a second, leaving the Verstappen Racing crew in third.

By that stage, Verstappen himself had long since handed over the wheel — first to Juncadella and then to Gounon — meaning there was no late opportunity to respond. When rain arrived in the closing stages, it effectively brought a halt to any further improvement across the board.

The wet weather has been a recurring storyline throughout the build-up to this event. As our forecast had outlined ahead of the race weekend, difficult and unpredictable conditions were expected throughout, and the closing minutes of qualifying underlined exactly that.

For those keen to understand the full competitive picture heading into the race, it is also worth noting that the Verstappen Racing Mercedes carries a significant Balance of Performance disadvantage — a factor that may loom even larger when the full 24-hour race gets underway.

Third place in qualifying is by no means a disaster, but with the session's disruptions ensuring that not everything was resolved, all eyes now turn to whether Verstappen and his team-mates can improve their grid position as the qualifying programme continues.