The performance of Max Verstappen in the qualifying sessions of the 24 Hours of Nürburgring caught the attention even of his rivals. The Formula 1 driver helped his Mercedes AMG-GT3 secure a place in the front rows of the grid for this weekend’s race, lining up on the second row for the start next Saturday, the 16th.
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The four-time world champion took over the team’s car in the second part of the Top Qualifying session, divided into three phases, and placed the model among the top 12. In the final part, Daniel Juncadella completed the work and secured fourth place for car #3.
Verstappen Racing’s car finished qualifying 0.882 seconds behind the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 of the Red Bull Team Abt, driven by Luca Engstler in TQ3. The German highlighted the serious attitude of the Dutch F1 driver in his debut at the traditional endurance race. “He is definitely someone I look up to and can learn a lot from,” he said.
“You can tell he understands what we are doing here. I don’t think he ever expected to come to TL1 and immediately take pole. It’s a very specific car and a very specific race. From the way he prepared, it was clear he took everything very seriously, and that’s great to see,” he explained.
Another who also spoke about Verstappen was Marco Mapelli, second place with the sister Lamborghini of Red Bull Team Abt. According to him, Verstappen’s commitment impressed in the endurance racing environment. “It’s completely outside his normal world, but it’s cool to see his commitment to this work, the way he approached the tests and everything else,” he highlighted. “That shows the level of competition. You can’t just show up and put the car in first. Preparation is necessary.”
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