Team Verstappen secures top five position for second Nordschleife race

Max Verstappen and team-mate Lucas Auer are due to start the second race of the weekend at the Nordschleife from fifth on the grid.

Verstappen and Auer finished the first qualifying practice in 32nd place on Sunday morning before the car returned to the track for 'Top Qualifying'.

Despite the lowly result in the early morning session, Team Verstappen was already automatically seeded for the final qualifying outing, with Auer taking part in the session. 

Verstappen did not take part, as in advance, each team had to designate one driver to partake in two runs, with Auer nominated on this occasion.

The conditions were tricky due to some light rain, as the #17 Porsche experienced in the opening stages. 

Alessio Picariello immediately hit the crash barrier and sustained substantial damage. Not long later, the #44 Porsche was also into the wall after a spin.

Auer's first lap did not yet prove very convincing. He was initially outside the top 10, trailing by more than 10 seconds. 

At the top sat Thierry Vermeulen, who recorded an 8:10 behind the wheel of his Ferrari, just one thousandth faster than David Jahn.

In the end, Auer would improve as he jumped to P5 in his second and final run, but failed to match Vermeulen's time.

The second race of the weekend will take place at 13:00 local time.