Max Verstappen's Nurburgring 24 hour race hit by 32-second penalty to race leader

Verstappen in Red Bull kit looking over his Mercedes amg car driving on the Nurburgring — Photo: © IMAGO

Nurburgring 24 Hours

Max Verstappen's Nurburgring 24 hour race hit by 32-second penalty to race leader

Max Verstappen has a boost at the Nurburgring

Dan Ripley Global Editor

Professional F1 journalist and analyst

Saturday 16 May 2026 16:03 Updated: 17:45

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Max Verstappen's bid to win the Nurburgring 24 hour race had a dramatic twist just 45 minutes into the race.

Verstappen is racing for Mercedes this weekend, paired with Dani Juncadella, Lucas Auer and Jules Gounon as he takes a break away from competing in Formula 1 with Red Bull.

The four-time world champion didn't start the race though, with Juncadella at the wheel of the #3 car for Verstappen Racing, moving up to second on the first lap after qualifying fourth.

However, after trying to chase down leader Marco Mapelli, he ran onto the grass at the Stefan Bellof S, forcing him to drop behind Max Paul and Kevin Estre into fourth.

Mapelli hit with jump start penalty

But Mapelli was quickly put under investigation for a jump start while all the cars were rolling, before being hit with a 32-second penalty for the infringement.

Mapelli shortly after served his penalty, promoting Verstappen's team up to third place and running just under five seconds from the race leader Maximilian Paul for the Konrad Lamborghini team.

Verstappen enters the race

Just before the hour mark and shortly after Mapelli served his penalty, Verstappen jumped in to replace Juncadella after a pit-stop, emerging in 10th place as he maintains a good chance of race victory - albeit in the early stages of the race.

However he was jumped by rivals in the undercut though after Juncadella's seven-lap stint came with a pit-stop of three minutes and five seconds.