Max Verstappen's first taste of the Nurburgring 24 Hours has turned into a leading role.
Halfway through his endurance debut on the brutal Nordschleife, the four-time Formula 1 world champion was at the head of the field, with his Mercedes-AMG GT3 entry sitting at the front of a Mercedes 1-2 formation overnight into Sunday morning.
Verstappen is sharing the Red Bull-liveried #3 Mercedes-AMG with Spanish DTM ace Daniel Juncadella, three-time Nurburgring 24 winner Jules Gounon and Austrian endurance specialist Lucas Auer. The car is fielded by his own Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing operation, a project Verstappen has spoken about with unusual intensity in the build-up to this race.
The Dutchman's qualifying performances earlier in the weekend had already raised eyebrows. He carried that pace into the race itself, hauling his crew into the lead group during a clean opening stint before a tougher second run later on Saturday.
Reflecting on that second stint, Verstappen kept his assessment trademark blunt.
"Initially I was a bit stuck in traffic, so it was a bit difficult to clear the cars," he said.
That is no small admission at the Nordschleife. The 25-kilometre combined Grand Prix and Nordschleife layout is famously congested in a 24-hour race, with multiple classes ranging from cup cars to full GT3s sharing the same ribbon of asphalt. Threading a top-class Mercedes-AMG through that mix in the dark, in fog patches and with the rear-quarter visibility of a GT car, is widely regarded as one of the toughest jobs in motorsport.
Verstappen had spent months on the simulator and on real-world reconnaissance laps preparing for the event, and the results have backed up the work. By the 12-hour mark, his car was leading from sister Mercedes machinery, with the major BMW, Ferrari and Audi opposition either chasing or already on the back foot.
The wider F1 world has been watching closely. The trip has been billed by some as a one-off side project, but team boss Toto Wolff has previously made no secret of his interest in Verstappen, and the spectacle of the reigning Formula 1 champion leading a flagship Mercedes endurance entry was always going to spark debate about what happens next.
What is clear from the timing screens is that Verstappen has done what he came to do: contend for victory. He had already become a regular on simulator-based Nurburgring practice sessions in recent years, and now, at his very first attempt at the real event, the #3 car is the one others are trying to catch.
Not everyone has been on his side this week. F1 pundit Juan Pablo Montoya has publicly questioned whether Verstappen should be racing the event at all, arguing it raises questions about his focus on Red Bull's troubled 2026 F1 campaign.
Verstappen's response has come in lap times and stint averages rather than press conferences.
With more than 12 hours still to run when his stint commentary was published, the race remains wide open. Lapped traffic, weather changes and the inevitable mid-race incidents at the Nordschleife mean even a confident lead is never safe. But the headline for Verstappen is already written: at his first attempt at the world's most demanding 24-hour race, he and his team are leading it.
Source: newsformula.one