WATCH: Max Verstappen survives 270km/h scare in fierce Maro Engel Nürburgring 24 Hours duel

Thomas Maher 17 May 2026 3:56 AM

Max Verstappen and Maro Engel made hefty contact during the night at the Nordschleife.

A hair-raising Nürburgring 24 Hours moment between Max Verstappen and Maro Engel almost put paid to both drivers’ races, while battling over the lead.

The two leading Mercedes-AMG GT3 cars made contact at high speed along the Dottinger Straight, leading to Engel taking to the grass as he gathered back control.

Max Verstappen and Maro Engel clash in Nürburgring fight

With three of the leading SP9 entries, the #16 Audi R8, the #84 Lamborghini Huracan, and the #911 Porsche 911 all suffering mishaps and crashes in the opening half of the Nürburgring 24 Hours, the race has developed into a two-horse race at the front between the two Winward Racing-operated Mercedes-AMG GT3 cars.

The #80 Mercedes, which started in 25th with Maro Engel at the wheel, has climbed to the front and, through the early stages of the night, the two machines circulated almost nose-to-tail as Max Verstappen hunted down Engel.

Engel, a previous winner of the Nürburgring 24 Hours, proved a fortress as Verstappen remained cooped up behind the German driver for over 20 minutes, despite circulating within a second, lap after lap.

Unable to get past the DTM championship leader, Verstappen finally got a chance down the Döttinger Straight and eased past the sister Mercedes, but wasn’t able to open a significant gap.

A lap later, Engel was able to latch onto the slipstream and attack in response, pulling alongside Verstappen as the pair approached Tiergarten.

But two slower cars were ahead on track and, with the two Mercedes drivers bearing down on them, space rapidly ran out. With Engel exposed on the outside, Verstappen held firm in the middle of the track as space ran out, leading to the two cars going door-to-door at around 270km/h.

With Engel ending up in the grass as he desperately tried to shed speed and keep control, he was able to tame the wayward movements of the car and recover to the track without any further drama, although lost a few seconds to Verstappen in the progress.

Shortly after, Engel and Verstappen both pitted for a driver swap at their respective teams, with Engel replaced by Maxime Martin in the #80, and Jules Gounon stepping into the #3.

This battle between Max Verstappen and Maro Engel 🤯

That could have been a disaster between the two Winward Racing Mercedes-AMGs… #24hNrb #Nurburgring24Hours pic.twitter.com/eSYMty3YWL

— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) May 17, 2026

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With 13.5 hours elapsed on the clock, the #3 continues to lead by 15.5 seconds, with the #34 Aston Martin Vantage from Walkenhorst Motorsport, driven by Mattia Drudi, almost four minutes behind in third place.

“I had a good double stint. Our cars are running well, and I had a lot of fun with Max,” Engel said after stepping out of the Mercedes.

“Of course, the Nordschleife is special, a cool place. And driving through the night there with Max was really enjoyable.

“I hope we entertained the fans a bit – those who were still awake certainly did the right thing. Now I’m going to get some sleep and my teammates will take over.”

Verstappen’s night stint demonstrated the Dutch driver was certainly not having any difficulties in adjusting to the darkness, having not been able to gain any proper experience in such conditions prior to the event.

His pursuit and fight with Engel showed a similar attitude in risk-taking to his racing in his first double-stint, in which he produced multiple overtakes to rise from eighth place to the lead, including a daring overtake around the outside of the #47 Mercedes that saw him put two wheels on the grass before turn-in.