More trouble for Max
The adventure on the Nordschleife of Max Verstappen continues with a few too many problems. The four-time Dutch F1 world champion is also competing this weekend on the historic Nürburgring track to tackle the two qualifying races for the legendary 24-hour race which will take place between May 16 and 17.
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These are two races – both four hours long – scheduled for this weekend, which are in addition to the race Verstappen competed in on March 21 and won with his team before suffering a sensational and mocking disqualification due to using an extra set of tires in the race than allowed.
Penalty in qualifying
Even today, something went wrong from a regulatory point of view for the Mercedes #3 crew: Verstappen, along with his adventure partner Lucas Auer, had achieved the sixth fastest time in today’s qualifying, paying dearly for the excessive traffic encountered on their fast lap. In reality, however, in the race scheduled for this evening starting at 5:30 PM, Verstappen and Auer will find themselves starting from ninth position.
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💣O momento em que Lucas Auer, companheiro de equipa de Max Verstappen, compromete a qualificação da equipa. pic.twitter.com/aZ3rIVb3Or
— SportMotores.com (@sportmotores) April 18, 2026
The Verstappen.com Racing team car was indeed penalized three grid positions due to contact caused by Auer. The 31-year-old Austrian driver was deemed responsible for the incident involving car #3 with Porsche #941. From this, the stewards’ investigation and the grid drop for Verstappen’s crew ensued. It will therefore have to be a comeback race for the orange superstar today.
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