Verstappen back behind the wheel after commanding Nürburgring night run

The Dutchman, who had earlier surged his team into the lead during his night stint at the iconic Nordschleife, climbed back into the car after taking over from teammate Luca Auer. Auer, who had previously replaced Jules Gounon, successfully maintained the lead and handed the car back to Verstappen with an advantage of more than five seconds.

Verstappen wasted little time extending the gap to the chasing #80 Mercedes, stretching his lead to over seven seconds within just two laps of his stint.

Dani Juncadella kicked off the overnight running with stints eight and nine, shadowing Luca Stolz in the #80 Mercedes, who remained behind the wheel throughout that period. The Spaniard soon moved ahead after taking over the car, and during the eighth hour, the pair traded the lead multiple times while carving their way through traffic.

Although there had been speculation that Verstappen would jump in for stint nine, Juncadella instead stayed aboard for a double stint. During the pit cycle, Maro Engel climbed into the sister Winward Mercedes and quickly opened up an advantage of almost 10 seconds over Juncadella within the opening laps of the ninth stint.

Verstappen eventually returned to the cockpit and began hunting down Engel, with the two drivers engaging in an intense wheel-to-wheel battle for the lead. Traffic proved a constant challenge as both Mercedes cars threaded their way through lapped cars around the Nordschleife. Just before the halfway mark, Verstappen finally managed to make a decisive move stick and snatch the lead.

Engel refused to back down, and moments later, the pair nearly came together again as they approached slower traffic. Both Mercedes moved left to overtake, resulting in slight contact that sent Engel onto the grass. However, the German managed to keep control and rejoin safely.

Auer later took over from the four-time Formula 1 world champion and also completed a double stint. By the midway point of his run, he had maintained a cushion of more than five seconds over Stolz in the rival Mercedes. The two cars remain locked in a direct battle for victory, with the third-placed #84 Lamborghini trailing by around five minutes.