Verstappen Racing loses Nurburgring 24H lead at one-third race distance

Verstappen Racing began climbing back through the order once Max Verstappen stepped into the #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 following Daniel Juncadella’s opening stint. The Dutchman immediately looked comfortable in the changing conditions, slicing his way through the field with a number of impressive overtakes to move from 10th position into the race lead. Even a huge scare in damp conditions, where he almost lost the rear of the car completely, was not enough to slow down his progress around the Nordschleife.

Once Verstappen completed his double stint, the car was handed over to Jules Gounon, who inherited the lead but faced a more complicated phase of the race as rain began to return to the circuit. The Frenchman lost ground compared to the earlier pace shown by Verstappen, although he still managed to keep the #3 entry firmly inside the leading group before eventually pitting and handing over to Lucas Auer.

Auer later brought the Verstappen Racing Mercedes back to the front and held onto the lead for several laps during the night stint. However, the Austrian eventually came under pressure from Stolz, who had taken over Schiller’s Mercedes-AMG GT3. After closing the gap, Stolz completed the move for the lead and slowly began edging away from Auer at the front, although the gap between the two remains relatively small.

As the race reached the eight-hour mark, both Mercedes cars came into the pits, with Stolz staying onboard for a double stint while Juncadella took over from his teammate.

With the first eight hours now in the books, the Nürburgring 24 Hours still has another 16 hours of action to go before the drivers finally see the chequered flag. You can follow all the LIVE action from the race here. For minute-by-minute updates, you can follow all the key moments from the Nürburgring 24 Hours here, including updates directly from the pit lane courtesy of our reporter Shanna Lutgert.

Weather conditions have already played a major role during the opening stages of the Nürburgring 24 Hours. The race began on a damp track before conditions improved during the afternoon, with sunshine helping dry the circuit, only for rain to sweep back across the Nordschleife shortly before nightfall.

Looking ahead to the overnight hours, the forecast currently points towards calmer and more consistent conditions compared to the earlier chaos. Temperatures are expected to continue falling throughout the night, dropping from around 6°C late in the evening to approximately 3°C in the early hours of the morning, while skies should remain mostly clear for large parts of the night before becoming cloudier again closer to sunrise.

At the moment, the probability of further rain remains limited, with only a small chance of showers expected overnight. Winds are also forecast to stay relatively light across the circuit. Nevertheless, the combination of darkness, low temperatures and potentially damp sections of track could still create difficult grip conditions for the drivers as the race heads deeper into the night.