- Verstappen’s double stint pushes the #3 Mercedes 28 seconds clear.
- Dramatic side-by-side collision between teammates shakes up Nürburgring night.
- Several pre-race favourites, including defending BMW, already out of contention.
Max Verstappen put the #3 Winward Mercedes nearly half a minute clear of the field at the halfway mark of the 2026 Nürburgring 24 Hours.
The four-time Formula 1 world champion completed a double stint through the early hours of Sunday morning to build an advantage of just under 28 seconds.
His car leads the sister #80 Winward entry, turning the race into an intra-team contest with just under 9 hours remaining.
The race began with team-mate Dani Juncadella at the wheel, starting fourth on the grid. Juncadella made contact with polesitter Mirko Bortolotti’s Team Abt Lamborghini at the second turn of the Nordschleife.
Abt boss Martin Tomczyk called the incident “not acceptable,” though stewards ruled it a racing incident. Juncadella then ran onto the grass attempting an overtake and lost two positions.
Verstappen took over after the first hour, joining the race in 10th place. He nearly made contact with the barriers on his opening laps after sliding off the track.
He recovered to lead by just over 20 seconds when he handed the car to Jules Gounon at the three-and-a-half-hour mark.
From fourth on the grid to the front of the field
Verstappen’s progress through the field came through a mix of bold overtaking and sharp reading of conditions.
He passed Ayhancan Güven’s Manthey Racing Porsche at Turn 1 of the grand prix circuit. A spell of slippery weather helped him pull away from rivals.
Reflecting on those opening stints, Verstappen told Motorsport.com:
“Initially, I was a bit stuck in traffic, so it was a bit difficult to clear the cars. But once I cleared a few of them and then the weather kicked in with a few laps of slippery conditions. That’s I think where we made a difference.”
Several pre-race favourites were already gone by the time night fell. Kevin Estre crashed the #911 Porsche on an oil patch. The #45 Ferrari was wrecked in traffic. The #16 Audi retired after a collision, and the defending race-winning #1 BMW suffered a terminal refuelling failure.
A dramatic night battle with the sister Mercedes
Verstappen returned to the car around 1:30 am local time with 13 and a half hours left. He had completed just one lap in darkness during Thursday’s qualifying session.
Before the race, speaking to Mercedes, he had acknowledged the challenge ahead:
“A lot of changing conditions, and for me, the first time in the night in probably the worst possible conditions with the rain, the fog coming in.”
He quickly closed on Maro Engel in the #80 car. He passed the 2016 Nürburgring 24 Hours winner on the run to Tiergarten, pulling right and drafting past at the end of the Döttinger Höhe straight.
Engel tried to fight back, and the two cars made side-by-side contact while navigating traffic. That sent Engel across the grass, though he kept the car going and retained second place.
Verstappen’s double stint builds a commanding gap
Verstappen extended the lead from five seconds to just under 28 seconds during his second hour behind the wheel. He was consistently setting the fastest sector times of the entire field through those early-morning hours.
Both cars pitted around 4 am with 11 hours remaining, with Maxime Martin staying in the #80 and Verstappen handing back to Gounon.
The #99 BMW driven by Kelvin van der Linde held third at the 13-hour mark, though it sat several minutes behind both Mercedes entries after losing time to an opening-lap spin.
In the days before the race, Verstappen had described what he expected from night driving on the Nordschleife. He told Motorsport.com:
“That will probably be the best feeling. Then, you’re completely on your own, pushing in the dark. The car is normally at its quickest during the night as well, so I’m really looking forward to that.”
His double stint bore that out.
What lies ahead in the final hours
The Nurburgring race finishes at 3 pm local time on Sunday. Weather forecasts point to possible showers later in the morning, and the Nordschleife’s 25.3km layout leaves little margin for error across the remaining distance.
The #3 car’s position owes as much to the supporting cast as to Verstappen. Juncadella, Gounon and Lucas Auer each took turns at the wheel and traded the lead with the #80 throughout the race.
Gounon had a difficult spell in heavy rain when three rivals passed him, but smart pitstop strategy returned the car to the front.
Verstappen arrived at the Nürburgring as a debutant at the world’s most demanding endurance race. He leaves the overnight phase of it leading by a margin that will take something significant to undo.
Whether the #3 car survives the final 9 hours intact is the only question that matters now.
