Verstappen showered with praise for ‘awesome racing’ in thrilling Nordschleife duel

Haase managed to get past the Dutchman’s #3 on the opening lap, after Verstappen had initially held the lead through Turn 1 at the start.

Verstappen then piled on the pressure throughout the opening stint but couldn’t find a way through, before finally making it stick on the straight by using the slipstream of the #16 Audi and diving into the pits for the driver change from the lead.

Asked during the race, once he had stepped out of the car, what it was like to battle a four-time world champion, Haase replied: "It was really, really, a lot of fun. I think I haven’t had so much fun during a race for a long time. We had parts where Max was a bit faster than me, and then where I was a bit faster than him. It was awesome racing."

When asked if he could return to the Nürburgring in three weeks, with Formula 1 set for a break following the Japanese Grand Prix, the Dutchman stopped short of confirming his presence but made it clear the option remains on the table, stressing that it will depend on whether everything can be arranged, while reiterating his enthusiasm for racing at the venue.

The next round of the German endurance championship is scheduled for April 11, with NLS3 – the 57th Adenauer ADAC Rundstrecken-Trophy (4h) set to take place.

The race would have originally overlapped with the Bahrain Grand Prix, planned for April 10-12, but the event has since been cancelled for the time being, along with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East.