Sunday’s four-hour qualifier was held one day after the tragic accident that claimed the life of Finnish driver Juha Miettinen, with the grid paying tribute before the start.

The race marked only the third completed round of the 2026 Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie season after earlier disruptions to the calendar. Once underway, Verstappen quickly became one of the main contenders.

Driving the #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo run by Winward Racing, the Dutchman started from fifth place and made rapid progress through the field. Within the opening stages, he had already moved into first position.

He then found himself in another close battle with Christopher Haase, continuing an emerging rivalry between the pair on the Nordschleife after their exciting fight earlier this season. Verstappen held on to the lead and began creating a gap at the front.

But the momentum did not last. Front-end damage forced an unscheduled pit stop, and the Mercedes was taken into the garage for repairs that lasted around 30 minutes.

Lucas Auer later took over the car, but the lost time proved too costly. The Verstappen/Auer duo eventually finished 39th, three laps behind the winning crew.

Victory went to Christopher Haase, Alexander Sims and Ben Green for Scherer Sport with the Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II.

The next event at the circuit will be the famous 24 Hours of Nürburgring on 14–17 May, where Verstappen is set to race alongside Auer, Daniel Juncadella and Jules Gounon.