Snow and hail hit Nurburgring qualifying as drivers battle 'wild' conditions

Max Verstappen drives at the Nurburgring in the wet — Photo: © IMAGO

Nurburgring 24 Hours

Snow and hail hit Nurburgring qualifying as drivers battle 'wild' conditions

Snow and hail? In May?

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Thursday 14 May 2026 20:15

It may be the height of spring, but wintery conditions suddenly hit Max Verstappen and the rest of the field at the Nurburgring 24 Hours on Thursday.

On Thursday, May 14 the iconic endurance race weekend kicked off, with the first two qualifying sessions — which served more as practice sessions, rather than setting the grid — where in the morning the weather took an unexpected turn.

While Verstappen briefly took control at the start of the first session and set the fastest time, this was largely because of the various slow zones and Code 60 zones due to previous incidents.

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Fabian Schiller, however, soon clocked the fastest time of a 8:14.957, while Raffaele Marciello ensured Verstappen tumbled down to third by claiming the second place spot.

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Snow and Hail at the Nurburgring

When Schiller and Marciello went faster it wasn't long before the weather took an adverse turn, with rain and even hail seen at some parts of the circuit, appearing as light snow on occasion.

As a result of the weather, no one was able to improve in the final 20 minutes of the first qualifying session.

Qualifying will continue this evening, for a three-and-a-half-hour session beginning at 8pm local time (7pm UK), and a third qualifying session will take place Friday afternoon, May 15, before Top Qualifying determines the grid for the Nurburgring 24 Hours.

Nurburgring weather forecast (Thursday, May 14)

For the second qualifying session on Thursday, May 14 the rain came pouring down as we got underway, with huge plumes of water spraying up from the back of the cars.

The sunshine soon came beaming through however as the track caught the final few rays, before the track is slowly consumed by darkness as we approach 8pm UK time.

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