Nurburgring 24h Qualifiers: Aston Martin quickest in second qualifying

TL;DR

Christian Krognes set the fastest lap in the second qualifying for the 2026 24h Nurburgring, driving the Aston Martin #34 with a time of 8:18.515 minutes. The session faced delays due to heavy rain and wet track conditions.

Key points

Christian Krognes set the fastest lap in second qualifying.
The lap time was 8:18.515 minutes.
Qualifying was delayed due to heavy rain and wet conditions.

Christian KrognesWalkenhorst MotorsportWinward RacingMax Verstappen

Motorsport photo

Christian Krognes once again demonstrated his skills on the Nordschleife in second qualifying on Sunday for the 2026 24h Nurburgring Qualifiers, setting the fastest lap. On a drying track, the Norwegian driver in the Walkenhorst Aston Martin #34 (Krognes/Thiim) posted a best time of 8:18.515 minutes, closing out the session.

After heavy rain overnight, the track was wet at the start of qualifying, with cool temperatures of 5°C. Due to the weather conditions, the session began 15 minutes later than scheduled.

Toward the end of the session, the track began to dry, allowing lap times to improve multiple times. Initially, Max Verstappen in the Winward Mercedes #3 (Verstappen/Auer) was the first to break the nine-minute mark.

However, in the final phase of qualifying, the Formula 1 driver and his team-mate Lucas Auer stayed in the pits, causing the #3 car to drop back to 32nd position. Despite this, Verstappen remained satisfied.

"The car is working really well,” the Dutchman said. “At the same time, I’m still learning more myself when it comes to the setup – we're still trying small things to find even more pace. The other teams are also working on fine-tuning and balance, and that’s exactly what we’re doing too. Hopefully everything will come together for the main race."