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Max Verstappen’s quest for victory around the Nordschleife took a dramatic turn on Sunday, as the car was forced into a lengthy stay in the pit lane due to damage.

The opening stage of the second qualifying race was a spectacular watch, thanks to Verstappen and Christopher Haase.

Verstappen charged up from fifth place and took the lead from Haase on the third lap. However, the Audi driver refused to give in and remained close behind.

From there, the race appeared to be under control. Verstappen built a healthy lead after the pit stops and continued to pull away.

Alex Sims had taken over from Haase, but was unable to match Verstappen’s pace.

Despite this, things went badly wrong for Verstappen when he pitted with front-end damage.

The team moved the car into the garage and continued repairs on the Mercedes entry.

After extensive work on the car, it re-emerged from the pit lane, but all hopes of a victory were dashed, with the team now treating the remainder of the race as a practice session.

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