Nurburgring 24 Hours: Max Verstappen goes from P10 to P1 with incredible first stint

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

Nurburgring 24 Hours

Max Verstappen goes from P10 to P1 with incredible first stint in Nurburgring 24 Hours race

Verstappen had an incredible double stint

By Vincent Bruins.

Saturday 16 May 2026 19:45

Max Verstappen completed his first double stint in the ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nurburgring, making an astonishing impact.

The Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing driver reflected on how he ascended from tenth to first place during the race.

His team-mate Dani Juncadella handled the opening stint before Verstappen jumped in for stints two and three, following a 32-second penalty for the race leader.

A few incidents involving his GT3 rivals, including the Scherer Sport PHX-Audi, KCMG-Mercedes-AMG, and Thierry Vermeulen’s Ferrari, allowed him to gain several positions.

He then overtook the Manthey-Porsche, a Haupt-Mustang, and the Walkenhorst-Aston Martin on track. With Jules Gounon now taking the wheel, the four-time world champion can look back on his performance with pride.

Finding balance between survival and pushing hard

“Yeah, it was good initially, of course, I was a bit stuck in traffic, so it was a bit difficult to clear the cars,” Verstappen told GPFans.

"But once I cleared a few of them, and then the weather kicked in with a few laps of like slippery conditions, and that's the thing where we made a made a difference, and then the car was good, I mean, yeah, trying to stay out of trouble, but at the same time you have to push and you have to try and be on the limit, which is always, I think, a difficult compromise, but it worked out fine.

The four-time F1 champion also experienced a brief moment when the AMG’s front end lifted, causing him to clip the barrier.

“Yeah, we had a little moment.", he added. "I think I turned in a bit too early, and then we had a low moment there. But I always find you have to keep yourself together, stay calm, and just focus again.”

Reflecting on driving in the night, for his next stint, he said: Yeah, I'm slowly getting ready, but not only the night, also seeing what the weather will do in terms of how much rain is coming down. It's going to be now, I think. The coming hours are challenging."