Where Max Verstappen qualified for his Nurburgring 24 Hours debut

Max Verstappen makes his debut at the Nurburgring 24 Hours this weekend

15 May 2026

Verstappen at the Nurburgring
© Red Bull Content Pool

Max Verstappen will debut at the Nurburgring 24 Hours from the second row of the grid on Saturday.

The four-time Formula 1 champion will line up in fourth on the grid at the Nordschleife ahead of his debut at the 24-hour race.

With three different drivers required to complete running in the three-part Top Qualifying session, Verstappen took the wheel in the second phase, successfully navigating the Mercedes AMG-GT3 into the top 12 grid slots. Daniel Juncadella took the wheel for the final element of qualifying, with his time 0.882s shy of the pole lap.

That time of 8m 11.123s was set by Luca Engstler, at the wheel of the #84 Lamborghini Huracan GT3.

Winward Racing, the team that runs Verstappen's Mercedes, faces an uphill task with its second car, after early pace-setter Maro Engel lost control and slammed into the barriers in TQ2, putting the entry out of the session.

Saturday's action will get underway at 9am BST with a warm-up, before the race begins at 2pm BST.

Nurburgring 24 Hours - Qualifying 1 - Top 10
POSITION	TEAM	CLASS	DRIVERS	CAR	TIME
1	#84 Red Bull Team Abt	SP9	Engstler, Bortolotti, Niedarhauser	Lamborghini Huracan GT3	8:11.123
2	#130 Red Bull Team ABT	SP9	Mapelli, Catsburg, Yelloly	Lamborghini Huracan GT3	8:11.468
3	#16 Scherer Sport PHX	SP9	Hasse, Sims, Green	Audi R8 LMS GT3	8:11.984
4	#3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing	SP9	Verstappen, Juncadella, Gounon, Auer	Mercedes-AMG GT3	8:12.005
5	#45 Realize Kondo Racing with Rinaldi	SP9	Perel, Marschall, Vermeulen, Neubauer	Ferrari 296 GT3	8:12.221
6	#7 Franz Konrad	SP9	Stalidzane, Paul, Engelhart, Lefterov	Lamborghini Huracan GT3	8:12.256
7	#64 HRT Ford Racing	SP9	Olsen, Mies, Vervisch, Maini	Ford Mustang GT3	8:13.676
8	#911 Manthey Racing	SP9	Estre, Güven, Preining	Porsche 911 GT3	8:13.939
9	#1 ROWE RACING	SP9	Farfus, Marciello, Van der Linde, Pepper	BMW M4 GT3	8:14.256
10	#47 KCMG	SP9	Fukuzumi, Gamou, Krohn, Pittard	Mercedes-AMG GT3	8:14.627

Ahead of the weekend, the Mercedes cars in the field were hit with a 35-kilo balance of performance penalty, with the minimum weight set at 1,335kg. In comparison, this is the full 35kg heavier than the McLaren entry, while it is 30kg heavier than the Audi R8.

Further hindering Verstappen's chances of success is the fact that his Mercedes has been fitted with 34.5mm restrictors, which will limit the pace in a straight line.

However, a prescribed wing angle of five degrees should negate this shortcoming in the corners, of which there is no shortage at the Norschleife.