How Verstappen managed to build huge winning margin before his NLS2 disqualification

The 58th Barbarossa Prize, as the second round of the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS) was known, was headlined by the participation of Max Verstappen. The Red Bull driver swapped his Formula 1 car for the Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, a car run by the experienced Winward Racing in partnership with Verstappen Racing. 

In qualifying, Verstappen immediately made a strong impression by setting the fastest time: 7:51.751. He was two seconds slower than the track record, but he also knew that pole position doesn’t necessarily mean much in a four-hour race – certainly not at the ‘Green Hell’. Moreover, qualifying is a ninety-minute open session, and traffic and yellow flags play a major role.

“You always need a bit of luck with traffic,” Verstappen told Autosport and others after qualifying. “I think this was literally the only lap of the day without a Code 60 holding me up. The AMG feels good, but to be honest, this is a bit of a glorified test session for us. I still need to get used to the driver changes during pit stops – we don’t do that in Formula 1, of course.”

Fierce battle at the front

With his pole time, he kept Nordschleife expert Christopher Haase in the #16 Scherer Sport PHX Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II behind him. Right from the start of the race, it was clear that these two cars would battle for victory on the 24.358-kilometre circuit in the Eifel.

At the end of the opening lap, Haase struck on the Döttinger Höhe, where he dived into the slipstream of the Mercedes and took the lead from Verstappen. Haase managed to open up a small gap, but due to traffic, Verstappen quickly closed the gap again and did not let the Audi get away. 

That traffic also allowed Verstappen to return serve on the same Döttinger Höhe straight just before the race’s first pit stop. He had a better exit, carried more speed and overtook Haase to take the lead. It was short-lived, however, as Verstappen immediately headed for the pit lane – just like Haase – but Scherer delivered a slightly quicker pit stop, allowing the Audi to retake the lead.

At Verstappen Racing, Daniel Juncadella took the wheel whilst Haase handed his car over to team-mate Nico Hantke. After just a few corners – in the infamous Flugplatz – Juncadella retook the lead. From that moment on, Verstappen Racing/Winward Racing took firmer control, as Hantke was clearly struggling more than Haase and lost a lot of time. 

Audi loses out on average lap time

Ultimately, the #3 Winward Racing crossed the line with a 59.524-second lead after four hours of racing. The lap times of both teams also show that the #3 Winward Racing completed much more consistent stints and that the #16 Scherer Sport PHX lost time mainly with Hantke at the wheel.

On paper, there was a clear reason for this: whilst Haase holds an FIA Platinum licence, Hantke is a Silver driver. By way of comparison, Verstappen, Juncadella and Gounon all hold the highest licence – Platinum. Both cars therefore fell into the Pro category thanks to the applicable rules, but it was to be expected that the Audi would lose ground with Hantke.

The average lap times were significantly better for the #3 Winward Racing Mercedes.

Photo by: Verstappen.com

This is also evident in the lap times of both cars. Haase ultimately recorded the fastest race lap with 7:52.737 and had an average of 8:04.754 over his two stints of fourteen laps, but teammate Hantke could not go beyond 8:02.820 as his fastest lap – partly because traffic played a much greater role in those stints – and had an average of 8:19.053 over twelve laps.

At #3 Winward Racing, the average lap times were significantly lower – even when traffic began to play a greater role. Despite driving the most laps – twelve in total – Verstappen was the team’s fastest in terms of average lap time: 8:03.111.

It should be noted, however, that he had taken the start and traffic did not yet play a role in those first two laps. After those two laps, the GT3 field did encounter the other categories, but they were mostly still driving in groups together rather than spread out.

The latter did apply from the second stint onwards, meaning that Daniel Juncadella’s average of 8:16.964 over seven laps was lower. Jules Gounon, too, could not manage better than an average of 8:08.580 over seven laps. Moreover, lap times on the Nordschleife are simply a matter of luck: encountering traffic on the narrow sections of the track inevitably costs time – especially when battles for position are taking place.

Overview: Lap times #3 Verstappen Racing/Winward Racing

Drivers: Max Verstappen (1), Daniel Juncadella (2), Jules Gounon (3)

Overview: Lap times #16 Scherer Sport PHX 

Drivers: Christopher Haase (1), Nico Hantke (2)

Overview: Average lap times for both teams

Possible return to NLS3

Due to Hantke’s slower average pace, the #16 Audi ultimately fell much further back than second place. This also meant that victory would not go to that team when, a few hours after the race had finished, it was announced that the #3 Winward Racing car had breached the rules and had been disqualified.

The reason for the disqualification was the number of tyres used by the team during qualifying and the race. The rules stipulate that three sets of tyres may be used in qualifying, as well as in the race – a total of six, therefore. However, it later transpired that the team had used seven sets, which could be seen as gaining a sporting advantage as new tyres offer more grip – no small luxury on the Nordschleife.

 As a result of the disqualification, the victory went to the #99 Rowe Racing BMW M4 GT3 Evo, driven by Jordan Pepper and Dan Harper. They had a lead of just over a second over the #44 Falken Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R driven by Tim Heinemann and Sven Müller.

Max Verstappen will also be competing in this year’s 24 Hours of the Nürburgring.

Photo by: Verstappen.com

Despite the disqualification, Verstappen Racing has certainly made its mark. The team is also competing in this year’s 24 Hours of the Nürburgring and, with its performance in NLS2, has made it clear that it is among the favourites. In that endurance race, however, even more specialists will be getting behind the wheel of the GT3s, making it an even tougher battle. 

For now, Verstappen himself has no plans to race on the Nordschleife again until the 24-hour race on 16 and 17 May. That could still change, however, as there are no Formula 1 races in April due to the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix. This opens up the possibility of competing in NLS3. “We’re looking into it. It depends on whether it’s all feasible. But I always enjoy racing here!” said Verstappen.

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– The Autosport.com Team