Max Verstappen's weekend at Nurburgring: How did the Red Bull fare?

Max Verstappen's racing debut at the Nurburgring Nordschleife went smoothly as he finished seventh in the Cup 3 Class along with his teammate Chris Lulham. However, all did not go smoothly for the Dutchman as he found himself straddling between crossroads during his race attempt.

The Red Bull F1 driver posted an impressive 10:21.591s lap during qualifying around the track. While it was only good enough for a 6th-place qualification in the CUP 3 class, it should be kept in mind that the Dutchman was running a heavily detuned car, which was running around 300bhp instead of the usual 425bhp, as he was competing under the CUP 3(G) [guest] class.

On raceday, while Verstappen seemingly lost massive ground on the race start, he soon started making up the straight-line deficit with his impressive cornering speeds. But the 27-year-old was emphasizing having a clean nose at the end of his stint, as it was one of the most important criteria to earn the DMSB (Deutscher Motor Sport Bund) Permit.

Despite having a slow pit stop during the race, he was able to complete the laps required to earn the permit. Happy with his outing, the four-time F1 champion soon shared a post on Instagram, which he captioned:

"Danke (thank you) Nordschleife!"

However, to earn the permit, he had to race with two cars during the race, but owing to the #89 car retaining damage from qualifying, he was unable to fulfill this obligation.

But, Max Verstappen's seventh-place finish in his class (27th overall), along with his fulfillment of the other criteria required to earn the license to race in the Nurburgring Endurance Series (NLS), is understood to help him receive the coveted license. The DPN Committee is slated to review his result and is expected to provide him with the permit based on such factors.

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How simulator training has helped Max Verstappen in his ventures around the Nurburgring

Max Verstappen at the Nürburgring - Source: Getty

The Green Hell is one of the most revered tracks in the world. While Max Verstappen has only recently started to try his hand at the track in the real world, this situation entirely changes in the sim racing world.

The Dutchman is known for his impressive racing skills in the sim racing sphere, where he has even participated in the 24 Hours of Nurburgring in the virtual world. So, reflecting on his exposure to the track in the simulator and how it helped him in his efforts out on track after his test runs earlier in the year, he told F1's official website:

"I've never driven there in real life, not even with a road car. Of course, I did spend a lot of time on the simulator doing thousands of laps, so that helped... When I got out there a few barriers were different, maybe a few kerbs were a little bit different, but I know the track layout well. It's just getting used to the grip level of the car, the conditions, the new tarmac in places.

"At the same time I was there with my sim driver that now turned into a real driver. Even for him also to get up to speed there, because eventually we all want to do that race as a team. It was a very good day, we got lucky with the weather as well – it was nice and sunny. It was fantastic!"

Max Verstappen is now slated to race in the NLS on September 27 with Emil Frey Racing in the Ferrari 296 GT3, in the two-week break between the Azerbaijan and the Singapore Grand Prix.