Max Verstappen Nürburgring charge undone by damage – round-up

Henry Valantine 19 Apr 2026 7:00 PM

Max Verstappen on the grid as pre-race respects were paid to Juha Miettinen.

Max Verstappen took to the track with a black ribbon symbol on his car, in paying respect to Juha Miettinen.

Max Verstappen dominates the headlines this Sunday, and we’ll take you through all the Nürburgring action and much more.

Pre-race respects were paid to Juha Miettinen, after his death at the circuit on Saturday, before the racing action took place in the final Qualifier for the Nürburgring 24 Hours next month.

Max Verstappen win chances curtailed after 28-minute pit delay

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Verstappen had moved his #3 GT3 team from fifth to first after qualifying earlier on Sunday, making some strong moves in the first hour of the final event before his Nürburgring 24 Hour attempt next month.

However, when handing the car over to teammate Lucas Auer, a 28-minute repair job in the garage put the pair down to 87th on the road, though Auer did recover to 39th at the chequered flag.

Broken front splitter ends Verstappen and Auer’s chances on Sunday

Verstappen and his team had looked in a strong position at the driver handover, the Red Bull F1 driver even completing a pit-lane overtake on lapped traffic before heading to the garage.

Upon inspection, however, he confirmed it was a broken front splitter that cost Auer plenty of track time, though Verstappen still said he enjoyed his time in the car on Sunday.

Lambiase signing ‘icing on the cake’ for McLaren

Away from the Nürburgring, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella believes the signing of GianPiero Lambiase for the team is a sign of how “attractive” the team has become in recent years.

Lambiase will be moving no later than 2027 after a lengthy stint as Verstappen’s race engineer and Red Bull’s head of racing, so Stella has opened up on what a signing of his calibre will be able to do behind the scenes further down the road.

O’Ward moves on from ‘Mario Kart’ F1 hopes

Pato O’Ward, McLaren IndyCar driver and one of the team’s Formula 1 reserves, has not made it his goal to reach Formula 1 in future.

He has tested several times for McLaren in the past, and explained how he wanted to join Formula 1 because of the quality of machinery.

Now, in 2026-spec, however, he explained why he is not so sure.

Brundle: No significant improvement before 2027 for Aston

Aston Martin’s struggles at the start of 2026 have been well-documented, but former F1 driver Martin Brundle cannot see that ending any time soon.

Saying “they’ve got neither speed nor reliability,” Brundle explained that the packed calendar and cost cap will go against the Silverstone team when it comes to bringing fast improvements to the AMR26.

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Red Bull Max Verstappen