Max Verstappen’s Mercedes under investigation over Nurburgring incident

Red Bull F1 driver Max Verstappen and teammate Lucas Auer are under investigation following an incident involving the latter in qualifying for the first Nurburgring 24 Hours qualifier.

Verstappen’s entry qualified sixth, lapping 3.524 seconds off the pace as the number 23 BMW M4 GTE EVO – driven by Anzal Zsio, Moritz Kranz and David Jahn – took pole position for the four-hour race.

Max Verstappen’s car under investigation at Nurburgring

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The stewards have confirmed a three-place grid penalty for Max Verstappen and Lucas Auer since this article was originally published

After a lengthy red flag delay, Auer was seen making contact while trying to overtake another car after the session resumed before handing the Red Bull-branded Mercedes-AMG GT3 car to four-time F1 world champion Verstappen.

Verstappen failed to improve on his teammate’s lap time and the pair could only manage sixth on the grid.

The incident involving Auer and the number 941 Porsche is under investigation, with Verstappen and Auer facing a potential grid drop or a stop-and-go-penalty during the race.

The first qualifier race, which will see Verstappen compete at night at the Nordschleife for the first time, will be held over four hours from 1730 local time on Saturday evening.

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Verstappen announced last month that he will make his debut in the Nurburgring 24 Hours in 2026.

The event will take place on the weekend of May 14-17, falling between F1’s Miami and Canadian grands prix.

Verstappen’s preparations for his debut in the endurance classic stepped up last month when he appeared in an NLS race at the Nurburgring.

The number three crew of Verstappen, Daniel Juncadella and Jules Gounon won the race in dominant fashion before being disqualified for a tyre infringement.

Verstappen’s team had used seven sets of tyres across qualifying and the race combined, one more than the permitted maximum of six.

This weekend’s qualifiers at the Nurburgring had originally been set to clash with F1’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

However, the cancellation of the Jeddah race last month opened the door for Verstappen to return to the Nurburgring this weekend.

Verstappen will be back behind the wheel on Sunday for the second qualifier race.

Qualifying will be held over 90 minutes from 0815 local time before ‘top qualifying’ is staged for 60 minutes from 1040.

Sunday’s four-hour race is scheduled to begin at 1300 local time.

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