Verstappen impresses as Nurburgring 24h weekend gets underway

While Thursday is a qualifying day, it acts primarily as preparation for Verstappen and his teammates Daniel Juncadella, Jules Gounon and Lucas Auer, as Top Qualifying on Friday is when the battle for Pole Position really heats up for teams from the leading categories.

Nonetheless, Thursday’s Qualifying 1 and 2 will no doubt serve Verstappen well, allowing the Red Bull driver to prepare in both daylight and night time conditions in the build up to his first-ever 24-hour race. The four-time F1 world champion is relishing the challenge of nighttime racing, telling Verstappen.com: “It’s probably going to be the best feeling. You’re by yourself, pushing in the night. The car is normally fastest in the night, so I'm looking forward to it.”

Despite never having competed in the gruelling challenge that is a 24h event, Verstappen has set an ambitious target on debut. “Success would mean winning,” he added. “That’s very simple, that’s why we are here. I know it’s not going to be easy, but that’s the target for everyone. But at the same time, I am also just looking forward to the whole experience, sharing the car with my teammates, working throughout that whole weekend.”

In what was an eventful two hours of qualifying, a scary incident saw the #146 Porsche of Jolina Schal collide with the stationary, smoking #900 Porsche of Alexander Hartt, with Hartt only a few yards away from his car.

Meanwhile, Verstappen impressed by topping the timing charts at the end of his one-hour stint with a 8:18.539 - eight seconds ahead of Jordan Pepper in the BMW M4 in P2. The Dutchman was then swapped with teammate Juncadella, with the team ultimately finishing P3 overall as the rain began to fall towards the end of the session.

Next up for Verstappen is Qualifying 2 later on tonight, taking place between 20:00 and 23:30 local time. The session will be crucial for those that have never driven at the ‘Green Hell’ at night, and is mandatory for all drivers, with failure to participate resulting in disqualification from the event.

Here are the results from Verstappen’s GT3 class for Qualifying 1: