Max Verstappen is close to his long-awaited debut at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring. And in Friday’s (15) qualifying, the four-time Formula 1 world champion and his teammates secured the second row on the grid, a feat celebrated by the competitor.
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The Red Bull driver took over the car in the second part of the Top Qualifying session, divided into three phases, and secured a spot among the top 12. Then, it was Daniel Juncadella’s turn to take the car, bringing the Verstappen Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 #3 to the second row in the decisive qualifying segment, lining up fourth.
Verstappen highlighted that the main goal was to reach TQ3, something he considered difficult due to the strong competitors. “I felt comfortable in the car because our goal was to reach top qualifying three, which obviously isn’t easy with the competition here. It’s very tough, there are many fast cars, but we managed to get in by a narrow margin. So the final lap was good enough,” he said.
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The Dutchman also emphasized the importance of weather conditions during the decisive session. “Fortunately, it was dry, the car behaved well, and we managed to advance. That was the goal,” explained the Red Bull F1 driver.
The four-time champion also spoke about the difficulties faced in previous practice sessions, especially in his first night experience on the German circuit. “Yesterday we had many changing conditions and it was my first time driving at night. Probably in the worst possible conditions, with rain and fog coming in. But at least I managed to get a good first idea of what to expect from the race as well,” he concluded.
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