Verstappen misses Nürburgring 24 Hour pole by under a second

Max Verstappen will start the Nürburgring 24 Hours from fourth on the grid after a closely fought qualifying session, missing pole by less than a second. The four-time Formula 1 champion helped his #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 entry reach the final shootout, but the #84 Red Bull Team ABT Lamborghini took top spot with a 8m11.123s lap from Luca Engstler.

Why it matters:

Verstappen's endurance racing debut at the Nordschleife has drawn massive attention, and a strong starting position proves he can adapt quickly to GT3 machinery. With a clean run through the knockout format and solid lap times, his team is in contention for a podium finish, even if the Lamborghinis currently hold the edge.

The details:

• Qualifying at the Nordschleife uses multiple knockout stages: Q1, Q2, and Q3 set the lower order, while Top Qualifying (TQ1, TQ2, TQ3) decides the front of the grid. Each session must be run by a different driver, adding strategic depth.
• TQ2: Verstappen set an 8m11.614s lap, placing sixth and earning a spot in the pole-deciding TQ3. That was the fastest of the three drivers for his car.
• TQ3: Daniel Juncadella took over for two flying laps. His first attempt (8m18.537s) was off the pace, but he improved to an 8m12.005s on his second run, briefly going second before settling into fourth.
• Pole went to #84 Lamborghini (Engstler, 8m11.123s), followed by #7 Lamborghini (Mapelli) and #16 Audi (Haase). The top five were separated by just 0.9s.

What's next:

The 24-hour race starts at 3pm local time (11pm AEST) on Saturday. Verstappen's car is within striking distance, but reliability and consistency over the full day will decide the outcome. The team will likely use his stints strategically to maximize pace and avoid the chaos that often decides endurance races at the Nordschleife.