24H Nurburgring: Can Max Verstappen and his teammates really win it or is it all hype?

The four time Formula 1 World Champion, Verstappen, will make his full 24 hour debut on the Nordschleife this weekend in the #3 Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo, entered by Mercedes AMG Team Verstappen Racing and run by Winward Racing. One of 161 teams entered.

Verstappen shares the car with Lucas Auer, Jules Gounon and Dani Juncadella, a trio with deep GT3 and endurance racing experience. The quartet starts from P4 after Friday’s Top Qualifying, with Luca Engstler taking pole for ABT Sportsline in a Lamborghini.

The Verstappen effect has transformed this year’s race. Multi day tickets sold out for the first time, with organisers expecting more than 300,000 spectators across a 161 car field, the biggest since 2014.

But this is not only marketing hype. Verstappen has already shown serious pace in preparation events and qualifying, including an 8:14.459 lap during Top Qualifying 1 that put the #3 Mercedes into the decisive shootout.

He is no tourist. But the Nürburgring 24 Hours has scant respect for reputation. More than 40 GT3 cars are entered, with BMW, Porsche, Mercedes, Audi, Lamborghini and other major brands stacked with Nordschleife specialists.

Luca Engstler secured pole position for the 2026 Nürburgring 24 Hours on Friday as Abt Sportsline locked out the front row with its pair of Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2s.

The German driver set an 8:11.123 lap in the #84 Lamborghini during the final single car shootout around the Nordschleife to claim his first pole for the endurance classic ahead of team mate Marco Mapelli in the sister #130 entry.

Christopher Haase qualified third in the Scherer PHX Audi #16, with the #3 Verstappen.com Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 of Dani Juncadella fourth after another strong showing from Max Verstappen’s team on the four time Formula 1 World Champion’s race debut.

Verstappen and Haase had already traded positions and fought wheel to wheel during practice sessions earlier in the week, setting up the prospect of another battle when the race starts on Saturday afternoon.

“That was exhausting. The conditions weren’t exactly easy,” Engstler said after the session. “We’d initially thought we’d be driving on dry wet tyres, then it was a cut and dried slick, and in the end a slick after all. It was a ride on a razor’s edge, but that’s exactly what the Nordschleife is all about.”

Mapelli finished just 0.345 seconds behind his team mate, while Haase missed pole by 0.861 seconds and Juncadella by 0.882.

The #45 Ferrari was the highest placed Ferrari in fifth, while the best Ford, the #64 HRT Mustang GT3, qualified seventh. Manthey’s famous “Grello” Porsche #911 was the leading Porsche, while the defending winning Rowe BMW #1 ended ninth fastest.

Top Qualifying was interrupted earlier when Maro Engel crashed the #80 RAVENOL Mercedes AMG at Hatzenbach during the second qualifying phase, triggering a Code 60 caution period.

“That’s obviously very disappointing,” Engel said. “Apologies to the team; that’s not the result any of us were hoping for. It was my mistake; the tyre hadn’t reached its optimum temperature yet. That’s why I tried to push a bit to build up the temperature. I ended up skidding off.”

After the caution was lifted, drivers had time for one final flying lap to fight for the remaining places in the pole shootout.

Verstappen briefly topped the standings before improving late to secure passage into the final session, while the Schubert BMW #77 and the Rowe BMW #99 both spun off in the closing minutes.

Nick Yelloly had earlier led Top Qualifying 2 in the #130 Abt Lamborghini with an 8:10.485 lap ahead of the Walkenhorst Aston Martin #34 of Christian Krognes.

Organisers confirmed Saturday’s event is sold out, with only limited Sunday tickets remaining for spectators hoping to attend the 54th edition of the Nürburgring endurance classic.