The #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 entry secured a second-row start after Daniel Juncadella delivered an 8m12.005s in Top Qualifying 3, leaving the team less than a second away from pole in a tightly contested final session.
Pole position ultimately went to the #84 Red Bull Team ABT Lamborghini, with Luca Engstler setting an 8m11.123s to lead a Lamborghini one-two ahead of the sister car driven by Marco Mapelli.
The qualifying format at the Nordschleife is split into multiple knockout stages, with Qualifying 1, 2 and 3 used to set positions further down the order, while Top Qualifying 1, 2 and 3 determines the front of the grid.
Each car must also nominate different drivers for each session, adding a further layer of strategy to the shootout.
Verstappen Racing began the decisive phase with Lucas Auer in Top Qualifying 1, where he successfully progressed the car into TQ2 by securing a position inside the top 20 required to advance.
That handed the car to Verstappen for Top Qualifying 2, where the four-time Formula 1 world champion needed to finish inside the top seven to reach the final session.
He delivered exactly that, setting an 8m11.614s lap to place sixth and move the car into the pole-deciding shootout.
From there, Juncadella took over for Top Qualifying 3, with the Spaniard tasked with two flying laps to fight for a front-row start.
His opening effort of 8m18.537s initially left the #3 Mercedes outside the leading contenders, more than six seconds off the benchmark set by the early pace of the Lamborghinis.
However, on his second and final attempt, Juncadella found significant improvement to climb the order, briefly moving as high as second on the timing screens as sectors turned purple across the lap.
As the final runners completed their attempts, however, he was eventually pushed back to fourth, just under a second away from pole position as Lamborghini underlined its pace advantage.
The Italian marque dominated the session, with Engstler leading Mapelli in a 1-2 for the #84 and #7 entries, while Christopher Haase placed the #16 Scherer Sport Audi in third after a lap just 0.861s off pole.
Thomas Neubauer completed the top five in the #45 Kondo Racing Ferrari, rounding out a competitive top group separated by small margins around the demanding Nordschleife layout.
Despite narrowly missing out on pole, Verstappen’s squad remains firmly in the mix heading into the 24-hour endurance race, having progressed cleanly through all stages of the qualifying format.
The race begins at 3pm local time (11pm AEST) on Saturday.
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