Max Verstappen’s Team Verstappen entry at the Nürburgring 24 Hours successfully advanced past Top Qualifying 1 on Friday morning.
After the opening day of action on Thursday, the intensity ramped up as teams battled to decide the grid order for the race.
In Top Qualifying 1, entries needed to finish inside the top 20 to progress to Top Qualifying 2.
On behalf of Team Verstappen, Lucas Auer took charge of the first half-hour session. However, drama struck early for the #33 Audi.
Michele Di Martino ran off the track on the GP circuit on cold tyres, sustaining significant damage to his car. He exited the vehicle safely, triggering double yellow flags.
Kelvin van der Linde, last year’s winner in the #1 BMW, also spun during the session.
Auer completed his run and set an 8:38.6 on his first lap, which initially was not enough for a top-10 position, meaning he needed to improve.
The Austrian driver later found more pace to climb into the top five, securing a place in the next session.
