After Dramatic Pole Shootout Max Verstappen face disq…. see details in the comment
Max Verstappen will start the 2026 Nürburgring 24 Hours from fourth place after a highly competitive qualifying session on the legendary Nordschleife circuit in Nürburgring.
The four-time Formula 1 world champion is sharing the No. 3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 entered by Verstappen Racing. In the final Top Qualifying 3 session, team-mate Dani Juncadella delivered an impressive lap of 8:12.005, which briefly placed the team in contention for pole before the fastest cars completed their runs.
Ultimately, the lap was enough for fourth on the starting grid, just 0.882 seconds slower than the pole-winning effort. Considering the extremely tight margins and the difficulty of mastering the 25-kilometre combination of the Grand Prix circuit and Nordschleife, it was a strong result for Verstappen’s squad heading into one of the toughest endurance races in the world.
Pole position was claimed by Luca Engstler in the No. 84 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2. Engstler set a blistering lap time of 8:11.123, edging out the rest of the field in front of a huge crowd packed around the circuit.
Marco Mapelli completed a dominant performance for Lamborghini by putting the No. 130 Huracán second, 0.345 seconds behind his team-mate. Third place went to Christopher Haase in the No. 16 Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II, ensuring three different manufacturers occupied the top three positions.
Before the final shootout, Verstappen himself took the wheel during Top Qualifying 2 on Friday morning. The Dutch star recorded the sixth-fastest lap with an excellent time of 8:11.614, comfortably securing a place in the decisive session and keeping the Mercedes-AMG firmly in the hunt for pole.
The final qualifying order underlined just how closely matched the leading GT3 teams were. Ferrari, Ford, Porsche, BMW, Aston Martin and Mercedes-AMG all featured in the top positions, promising a fiercely contested race.
The top ten on the grid will line up as follows: Lamborghini cars in first and second, Audi third, Verstappen’s Mercedes-AMG fourth, Ferrari fifth, another Lamborghini sixth, Ford seventh, Porsche eighth, BMW ninth and Mercedes-AMG tenth.
The race begins at 3:00 p.m. local time on Saturday and runs continuously for 24 hours until Sunday afternoon. With Verstappen starting from the second row, his team remains well placed to challenge for overall victory in one of motorsport’s most prestigious and demanding endurance events.