During an endurance race at the Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit in Germany, a driver died following a crash that involved seven cars.

The race was set to feature Max Verstappen, the Red Bull driver and four-time Formula 1 champion, who is pursuing interests beyond F1 and racing sports cars when possible.

However, during the qualifying session for the ADAC 24h Nürburgring, driver Juha Miettinen died after a crash involving seven cars.

Miettinen was 66 years old, and despite efforts from the organizations to save his life, he sadly passed away.

“Following the collision between several vehicles, race control immediately halted the race to allow for extensive recovery and rescue operations,” the race organizers said in a statement.

“Despite the immediate arrival of emergency services, the emergency medics were unable to save the driver involved, Juha Miettinen, after he had been extracted from the vehicle; the driver died at the Medical Centre after all attempts at resuscitation proved unsuccessful.”

Luckily, the other six drivers were taken to the hospital and are in non-life-threatening condition, according to the race organizers.

Following the crash, all race activities were halted for the rest of the day, and Verstappen posted a message of condolence for Miettinen and his family.

“Shocked by what happened today. Motorsport is something we all love, but in times like this it is a reminder of how dangerous it can be,” Verstappen wrote on Instagram. “Sending my heartfelt condolences to Juha’s family and loved ones.”

Before the race on Sunday, there will be a minute of silence held in memory of Miettinen.

Max Verstappen’s race at Nurburgring

The Dutch driver was set to take part in a four-hour race on Saturday in preparation for a 24-hour race he wants to enter down the line.

For the smaller race, Verstappen and his teammate, Lucas Auer, were handed a three-place grid drop.

They were set to start ninth after the penalty, giving them a lot of work if they were going to pull off a positive result.

Here is the full entry for the race:

1. Zsigo/Kranz/Jahn BMW
2. Heyer/Mo Hartling/Fittje Mercedes
3. Fukuzumi/Gamo/Krohn/Pittard Mercedes 
4. Assenheimer/Mueller/Pereira Porsche 
5. Engel/Stolz/Schiller Mercedes
6. Engstler/Bortolotti/Niederhauser Lamborghini
7. Haase/Sims/Green Audi
8. Paul/Lefterov/Stalidzane Lamborghini
9. Verstappen/Auer Mercedes
10. Rump/Buennagel Porsche

Nick Yelloly stormed to pole in a furious round of IMSA qualifying for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

The Briton, who shares Acura Meyer Shank Racing’s #93 Acura ARX-06 with Renger van der Zande, blitzed  the field with a flying lap of 1m11.626s around the 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit.

BMW M Team WRT’s Marco Wittmann, in the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8, ended up second by a slim 0.030s lap. Louis Deletraz overcame a late off to take third int he #40 Cadillac V-Series.R for Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing.

Porsche Penske Motorsport, winners of the opening two rounds at Daytona and Sebring, respectively, struggled in qualifying with Julien Andlauer putting the #7 Porsche 963 fifth, with Kevin Estre ending up eighth in the #6 sister car.

GTP

#25 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Philipp Eng, Marco Wittmann, Frederik Vesti

Nick Yelloly fired the first shot with a 1m11.756s flyer in Acura Meyer Shank Racing’s #93 Acura ARX-06 with roughly seven minutes remaining.

With four minutes left, the likes of Deletraz went off in Turn 6, while  Dries Vanthoor (BMW M Team WRT) went off in 1. Both continued on. Meanwhile, Yelloly went even quicker at 1m11.626s lap to retain first.

The #7 Porsche 963 for Porsche Penske Motorsport of Andlauer went off in Turn 6 with just over a minute remaining, but also continued on.

GTD

#89 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3: Jack Hawksworth, Frankie Montecalvo, Patrick Gallagher

Vasser Sullivan’s Frankie Montecalvo delivered a last-gasp qualifying effort and nipped the top spot at the every end, delivering a 1m18.411s flying lap to take pole in the #89 Lexus RC F GT3. It marks the third consecutive year Vasser Sullivan has claimed the class pole in Long Beach.

In his first GTD appearance of the season, Robert Wickens will line up on the front row. Driving the #36 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R for DXDT Racing, the Canadian took the top spot in the final seconds before being nipped by Montecalvo by 0.151s.

Danny Formal, who was the first driver to deliver a sub-1m19s lap in the session, ended up third, 0.215s behind pole in Wayne Taylor Racing’s #45 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2.

Heart of Racing’s Spencer Pumpelly was fourth, 0.293s behind in the #27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo, with Winward Racing’s Russell Ward in the #57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 a further 0.294s behind.

Orey Fidani nearly threw it away by crashing five minutes into the session, spinning the 13 Autosport #13 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the final corner. Fortunately, he was able to keep it off the wall and darted straight to pit lane for service that included a tire change.

Race Control deemed he drove the opposite way to get to pit lane and black flagged him, disqualifying him from the remainder of the session and leaving him to start 17th in class.

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Laurin Heinrich is adjusting quickly to a new change of scenery at this weekend’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

After contesting - and winning - the opening two endurance rounds in IMSA with Porsche Penske Motorsport (PPM), the 24-year-old German was, moreless, loaned out to privateer JDC-Miller MotorSports to co-drive the #5 Porsche 963 with Tijmen van der Heim. And it didn’t take long to get acclimated as Heinrich set the fastest pace in opening practice in his first-ever trial at the 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit.

Prior to opening practice, several drivers expressed to Motorsport.com their attention is on Heinrich and JCD-Miller MotorSports as a major contender this weekend, a surprising statement as he’s only made two starts in IMSA’s top flight GTP category, along with a Hypercar appearance last year’s final round in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

“It's a compliment that everyone is afraid of me because in the end I did only three races, never been to this place and working obviously with the customer team,” Heinrich told Motorsport.com.

“Everyone else is with more or less a factory team, so I take it as a compliment. But yeah, we've shown that we have great potential. The team is also working well. I'm surprised every time I jump in their car because it's prepared really well.” 

Heinrich, who is co-leader of the points standings with PPM teammates Julien Andlauer and Felipe Nasr, will contest all the sprint rounds and the Road America endurance race with JDC-Miller MotorSports. He will miss the Watkins Glen round due to a clash with the 24 Hours of Spa, but is set to return to #7 PPM entry for the season finale at Road Atlanta.

#IMSA – After victories in the endurance races @Daytona and #Sebring12, #Porsche factory driver @LaurinHeinrich_ can look forward to further @IMSA outings: the former #PorscheJunior and 2024 #GTDpro champ will continue the season in @JDCMotorSports’s #Porsche963. Exceptions:… pic.twitter.com/KjHowu5MtP

— Porsche Motorsport (@PorscheRaces) April 8, 2026

The other reason several competitors have highlighted Heinrich and JDC-Miller’s Porsche is because of adjustment to the Balance of Performance (BoP) made prior to the race weekend. With JDC-Miller opting to not run the new Evo update and stay with last year’s package, they were not hit as hard as PPM’s factory squad that finished a dominant 1-2 in last month’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

JDC-Miller MotorSports was given a different BoP, adding just an additional 5 kg to total 1,060 kg; and were hit with a 1.7 percent first stage reduction and 1.1 percent for the second stage. Meanwhile, PPM were handed a weight increase of 45 kg for an unprecedented total of 1,100 kg, along with a 5.4 percent reduction in first stage power and 2.9 percent for the second stage.

“I think the Porsche 963 has proven that it's a very versatile car and even despite us having the previous generation or the 2025 package, I'm still confident that in the end this is a race where it doesn't only come down to pure pace but also more about execution,” Heinrich said.

“So I'm confident because in the end I have a strong team around me who I truly believe that we can have a great execution and hopefully score a good result.” 

Porsche Penske driver loan sets up 'teammate' rivalry in Long Beach

Rival says Porsche “decided” Sebring win with team orders

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American motorsport fans, it is officially happening. After years of speculation, super licenses, and IndyCar domination, Colton Herta is finally getting his shot in a Formula 1car during a live Grand Prix weekend.

The newly formed Cadillac Formula 1 Team had already confirmed that the 26-year-old California native stsnds as its official test driver for the 2026 season. As part of his development role, Herta is slated to take the wheel for four FP1 sessions this year, making his long-awaited F1 weekend debut at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.

An American Driver for the American Team

Cadillac’s entry into Formula 1 is already one of the biggest stories of the 2026 season, bringing operations from Indianapolis, Charlotte, and Silverstone to the grid. Having an American talent like Herta heavily involved in the car’s development is the perfect storyline for the GM-backed squad.

Until now, Herta’s F1 prep with Cadillac has been strictly confined to simulator work at the team’s Charlotte facility. Now, he gets to test the limits of the car on actual asphalt.

“I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of the Cadillac Formula 1 Team car for the first time,” Herta said via a press release sent to MotorBiscuit. “I am looking forward to working closely with the team in a full Grand Prix environment and am fully focused on learning from every appearance.”

He added that his goal for the practice sessions is to “help the team, Checo and Valtteri as much as possible.”

Taking the F2 Route to The Pinnacle

To properly prepare for the jump to F1, Herta has been competing in the Formula 2 Championship, proving he can adapt to European open-wheelers. He already kicked off his F2 campaign with a strong showing at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne, walking away with a seventh-place finish in the Feature Race to score championship points on his debut.

Cadillac F1 Team Principal Graeme Lowdon pointed to this adaptability as the reason Herta is getting the practice seat time.

“Colton is a top talent, which he has not only proved by building an impressive resume in the NTT IndyCar Series before joining us, but also with a strong start to his Formula 2 season,” Lowdon explained. “Completing all four of our young driver FP1 sessions is a natural next step in his Test Driver role.”

Herta will also be pulling double duty in front of a home crowd later this year. When Formula 2 makes its inaugural visit to the Miami Autodrome during the Miami Grand Prix weekend, Herta will be on the grid, looking to put on a show for the American fans while continuing his march toward a full-time F1 seat.