Verstappen completes just one lap in night-time debut at a wet Nürburgring

The second part of qualifying was also not particularly relevant performance-wise for Max Verstappen and his team. After all, it’s only during Friday’s special qualifying for the fastest GT cars that it’s decided who will be on pole the next day. The day’s second session was mainly important to get to know the Mercedes AMG better in the dark and in wet conditions.

The entire qualifying took place with parts of the more than 25-kilometer circuit covered in rain, while other sections were dry. Looking at the weather forecast for Saturday and Sunday, Thursday’s conditions were expected to resemble those of the race itself. In short, it would be an excellent learning opportunity for Verstappen and the other drivers on the Nordschleife.

Lucas Auer started the session on behalf of Verstappen Racing, eventually handing the car over to Jules Gounon—who had watched on during qualifying 1 earlier in the day. As darkness fell, the Frenchman passed the wheel to Daniel Juncadella.

After the Spaniard’s stint, Verstappen Racing stayed in the pits for quite some time, after which Max Verstappen was set to begin his evening session in pitch darkness. It would be the very first time the Dutchman drove the circuit at night.

But precisely at that moment the rain intensified so much that having a first run became pointless and dangerous—even for Max Verstappen. Although the Dutchman was ready to go, he stepped out of the Mercedes at the last moment.

Only with just under an hour remaining did the team deem the conditions good enough to finally send Verstappen out. The Dutchman was visibly cautious, exploring the track in typical Verstappen fashion. Nevertheless, the onboard footage from the Mercedes was spectacular, clearly showing that Verstappen wasn’t going full throttle. After that single lap, the F1 driver came back in, but he had at least gotten a feel for driving in the dark and the rain.

It remained wet throughout the evening, preventing anyone from improving on the afternoon’s fastest time. In the end, the best time was an 8:14.95, set by Fabian Schiller in a Mercedes GT3 car. Verstappen finished third, which is a good sign for his Saturday qualifying: the Mercedes is truly a fast machine.

Nicky Catsburg ended the day sixth in the Lamborghini. Robin Frijns took seventh with BMW. Like Verstappen, both drivers will try to take pole on Saturday.