Max Verstappen, Dani Juncadella, Lucas Auer and Jules Gounon are just a few hours away from winning on Verstappen's Nurburgring 24 Hours debut as they fronted a Mercedes 1-2 with five hours on the clock. 

The Red Bull-backed Team Verstappen Mercedes AMG led the race with Verstappen at the wheel, as the four-time world champion returned to the cockpit in the morning, having driven an impressive couple of night stints.

He leads the sister Winward Racing-run Mercedes #80 in the hands of Maro Engel (who Verstappen overtook for the lead during the night), with a huge gap to the third-place car.

As has been the case since Saturday night, realistically, the Mercedes can only trip over themselves.

There have been hints that the lead fight is being managed, too.

Before midnight on Saturday, Fabian Schiller in the #80 Mercedes admitted his team’s strategy had been to stay behind the Verstappen car and “avoid any unnecessary battle”. 

Though the #3 and #80 did subsequently exchange the lead on several occasions. 

On Sunday morning, once Verstappen had established the #3 into a clear lead, Schiller said “We’ve essentially frozen the situation now to ensure we don’t end up fighting each other”. 

He referenced Mercedes’ 10-year wait for a victory at the Nurburgring 24 Hours, something it’s very keen to end. 

Verstappen has an advantage in excess of 10 seconds at the end of his latest stint, with the Walkenhorst Motorsport #34 Aston Martin completing the top three, several minutes adrift of the leading duo.