Max Verstappen hasn't just returned to the "Green Hell", he’s currently owning it. In a qualifying session defined by lengthy interruptions and tactical gambles, the four-time Formula 1 World Champion delivered a masterclass behind the wheel of the #3 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 he shares with Daniel Juncadella and Jules Gounon.
His pole-setting lap of 7:51.751 left seasoned Nordschleife veteran Christopher Haase (#16 Scherer Sport PHX Audi) trailing by 1.974 seconds. It is the equivalent of a 0.5 seconds gap to the field on a "standard" 5km circuit.
Verstappen’s flyer came during a 20-minute green-flag window. With much of the qualifying session plagued by neutralisations, the Dutchman nailed his timing and delivered a strong lap.
"You always need a bit of luck with traffic. I think that was literally the only lap of the day without a Code 60 slowing me down", Verstappen said immediately after the session.
"The AMG feels hooked up, but honestly, today is a glorified test session for us. I still need to get the muscle memory down for the driver changes at the pit stops. We don't exactly do those in F1."
Several cars miss out on window
The session was far from smooth. An early shunt at the Hohenrain-Schikane brought out the orange flags for 45 minutes of barrier repairs.
Just as the pack began to ramp up the pressure in the closing stages, simultaneous incidents at Aremberg and the Hohe Acht effectively ended any hopes of a late-session shootout prematurely eight minutes from the end.
Several heavy hitters thus missed out on the chance of a good starting position, including the #64 HRT Ford in 20th, the #54 Dinamic GT Porsche in 22nd and the #17 Dunlop Porsche in 24th.
The Dunlop Porsche was entered under the Falken banner until last year, but has changed colours and tyres for 2026 after the Falken parent company Sumitomo Rubbert Industries took over the Dunlop brand last year, leaving one Falken and one Dunlop in the series.
Qualifying top 10 in NLS2
| Position | Team | Drivers | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Winward-Mercedes #3 | Verstappen / Juncadella / Gounon | 7:51.751 |
| 2 | Scherer-Phx-Audi #16 | Haase / Hantke | +1.974 |
| 3 | Rowe-BMW #98 | Farfus / Marciello / van der Linde | +2.855 |
| 4 | Walkenhorst-Aston-Martin #34 | Krognes / Drudi | +3.503 |
| 5 | Winward-Mercedes #80 | Schiller / Martin | +3.914 |
| 6 | KCMG-Mercedes #47 | Fukuzumi / Krohn / Pittard / Tsuboi | +4.070 |
| 7 | Rowe-BMW #99 | Harper / Pepper | +4.905 |
| 8 | Kondo-Ferrari #45 | Perel / Vermeulen / Neubauer | +5.061 |
| 9 | HRT-Ford #65 | Haupt / Schumacher / Stippler | +5.664 |
| 10 | Falken-Porsche #44 | Muller / Heinemann | +5.770 |
