The long-awaited moment has arrived: Max Verstappen on track at the Nürburgring.
After days of anticipation, engines have finally fired up at the Nürburgring with the first practice sessions for the legendary 24 Hours race. On the afternoon of Thursday 14 May, during the session known as “Qualifying 1”, Max Verstappen also took to the track, driving the #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 entered by his own team, featuring the unmistakable Red Bull livery.
The firts laps
The session ended with the #3 crew setting the third-fastest time, 3.5 seconds behind the other AMG GT3 that topped the opening session. That was the #80 car entered by Ravenol, featuring a strong driver lineup: Maro Engel, Luca Stolz, Fabian Schiller and Maxime Martin. Splitting the two Mercedes was the reigning champion crew in the #1 BMW M4 GT3 EVO entered by Team Rowe. Raffaele Marciello’s time (+3.112) secured them second place.
We now await the next sessions of the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, especially those on Friday 15, to see the first head-to-head battles in lap times on the iconic Nordschleife. The major difference compared to Formula 1 will likely be the gaps: as already seen in the opening session, we are talking about differences measured in seconds rather than tenths or even hundredths, as is usually the case in Formula 1 and MotoGP. It remains to be seen whether the “Flying Dutchman” can also make the difference on the elevation changes of the iconic German circuit.
READ ALSO THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE 24 HOURS OF NÜRBURGRING AND DISCOVER HOW QUALIFYING WORKS
