Max Verstappen praised for ‘extraordinary’ move during NLS5 Nurburgring race

Photo by Jack Brekelmans/EYE4IMAGES/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Max Verstappen missed out on another win at the Nurburgring, but he still showed why so many people rate his skill behind the wheel.

Returning to the Nurburgring Langstrecken-Serie for the fifth round, Verstappen was making his second appearance of the season after also racing in NLS2 back in March. Once again, he was driving for Winward Racing in a Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo.

In that earlier race, Verstappen had crossed the line with a comfortable lead but was later disqualified because his team used an additional set of tyres. This time around, he looked set for another strong result until damage to his car derailed those hopes.

Verstappen started alongside Lucas Auer and managed to work his way into first place. But that lead didn’t last long as he picked up damage and had to come into the pits for repairs. Auer later rejoined well down the order.

By then, they were three laps off the pace and sitting 87th overall. Although they climbed back up to 39th by the end, any chance of a meaningful result had already slipped away despite what was another impressive showing from Verstappen until that point.

Neil Cole and Arjuna Kankipati react to Verstappen’s NLS5 pass

Verstappen had a memorable battle with Christopher Hasse early in the race, making a bold move for the lead. Hasse, who went on to win alongside Alexander Sims and Ben Green, was full of praise for Verstappen’s effort.

It wasn’t the only highlight from Verstappen, who also made an overtake at the pit lane entry that he’d practised on the simulator before the race. Commentators Arjuna Kankipati and Neil Cole were both caught off guard by how Verstappen moved into P1 during NLS5.

Kankipati said on the Sky Sports F1’s YouTube channel: “It’s not often that you see someone reassert their authority on the race lead like that on the climb up towards the final corner. But Max Verstappen has maybe done enough in sim racing that he trusted Christopher Hasse could do it here as well.”