Verstappen Racing still leads as Nurburgring 24H reaches quarter mark

The race got underway in chaotic fashion, with Daniel Juncadella making an aggressive start that initially gained him two positions before contact with Luca Engstler’s Lamborghini forced the latter into an early pit stop from the front row, costing the German several places. Incidents also unfolded across multiple categories during the opening stages, while Juncadella himself later slipped back to P4 after dipping his wheels into the dirt and losing two positions.

Up front, race leader Marco Mapelli was handed a 32-second penalty for a jump start in the #130 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2, although a later pit stop without serving the penalty still indirectly helped the Verstappen Racing car move up another place before Juncadella eventually pitted. That dropped the #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 down to P10 before Verstappen took over and produced one of the standout stints of the race so far, charging from 10th to first during a dominant double stint that saw him build a lead of more than 23 seconds before handing the car over to Gounon.

Elsewhere, Thierry Vermeulen suffered a heavy crash in his Ferrari, while the Audi driven by Haase was later disqualified following confusion surrounding green flags and Code 60 procedures, which left Alexander Sims unable to avoid the incident. Although the damaged car managed to return to the pits, race organisers ultimately confirmed its withdrawal from the event.

Approaching the sixth hour, just before the rain started falling heavily, Gounon, De Phillippi and Schiller were involved in a fierce battle for position, with the Frenchman temporarily dropping out of the top three before eventually returning to the pits and handing the #3 car over to Lucas Auer. Thanks to the pit stop cycle and an overtake on Schiller, Auer then managed to move back into the race lead.

With the first six hours now in the books, the Nürburgring 24 Hours still has another 18 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.

After climbing through the field during his first run in the Nürburgring 24 Hours, Verstappen admitted he was happy with the way the stint unfolded, particularly given how difficult the opening laps had been in heavy traffic. The Dutchman explained that once he managed to break free from the slower cars around him, the worsening track conditions helped him unlock more pace and build momentum at the front.

Verstappen also highlighted how challenging it was to remain aggressive while still avoiding mistakes on a circuit that was becoming increasingly slippery lap after lap. Despite that, the four-time world champion felt comfortable with the balance of the car throughout the stint and was satisfied with the overall execution.

The Red Bull driver additionally opened up on the major scare he experienced after briefly losing control of the car in tricky conditions. Verstappen managed to avoid hitting the barriers and quickly recovered from the moment before continuing without any serious damage. Looking ahead to the rest of the race, Verstappen expects the combination of darkness and unstable weather conditions to make the coming hours particularly demanding for everyone still fighting in the Nürburgring 24 Hours.