There was no real contest in NLS9, the ninth round of the Nürburgring Endurance Series, a four-hour race on the Nordschleife. Starting third on the grid, three seconds off pole, Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen seized control of the race at the very first corner and never looked back.
From then on, the #31 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari, carrying the colours of Verstappen.com, was never threatened. The four-time F1 champion built a commanding lead over the #6 Ford Mustang GT3, before handing the car to his team-mate Chris Lulham at the end of lap 14 with a comfortable advantage of 1m02s.
From there, Lulham’s task was simply to bring the car home. In the end, the sim racing driver crossed the finish line with a 24s lead. But that reduction was not down to pace, it was largely the result of yellow flags that worked against the #31 Ferrari.
On the podium, Verstappen’s smile was unmistakably genuine. His last victory outside F1 dated back to October 18, 2014, when he won the opening race of the Formula 3 season finale at Hockenheim. The Red Bull driver also set the fastest lap in the race: 7m51.514s, with a 4.5-second margin over his closest rival.
“It was super,” said Verstappen.
“The car performed superbly again in the dry during the first stints, which I already knew from qualifying.
“A bit of bad luck there, of course, but in the race, with the traffic, everything worked out.
“I don't think I made any major mistakes during the first two stints. Winning here for the first time is super, of course."
Sceptics might argue that the #31 Ferrari benefitted from a favourable Balance of Performance, or that Porsche was without its factory drivers, all on duty at Fuji for the seventh round of the 2025 World Endurance Championship season. But that is not the real takeaway.
What truly stands out is Verstappen’s relentless passion for racing. In just a few days, he will head to Singapore to continue his fight against McLaren in the F1 title battle. But he leaves the Nordschleife with memories to cherish—and with a clear desire to return for the Nürburgring 24 Hours, this time to measure himself against the very best GT3 drivers in the world.
"Of course I would like to do the 24-hour race,” said Verstappen.
“Whether that happens next year… [we’ll see]. But anyway we still need more experience. That's the case. Hopefully next year we'll do more NLS races.”
