Max Verstappen’s participation in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring ended bitterly this Sunday. After leading most of the race, the Mercedes-AMG GT3 #3 from Verstappen Racing suffered a mechanical failure three hours from the end, paving the way for the victory of the sister Mercedes car.
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The retirement frustrated a dominant performance by Verstappen, Jules Gounon, Lucas Auer, and Dani Juncadella, who controlled the race through the night and even opened more than 30 seconds of advantage in the lead. The failure of a driveshaft, caused after a problem with the right rear wheel bearing, practically took away any chance of victory for the team.
The Mercedes #80 from Winward Racing, driven by Maro Engel, Fabian Schiller, Maxime Martin, and Luca Stolz, took advantage of the situation to achieve the brand’s first victory at Nürburgring since 2016. Engel and Martin remain undefeated in the Intercontinental GT Challenge in 2026 after also winning the 12 Hours of Bathurst. Engel, in fact, repeated the feat of the last Mercedes victory on the German track, ten years ago.
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Before the problem, Verstappen starred in some of the most remarkable moments of the race. The four-time Formula 1 world champion took the lead at the end of the 11th hour after overtaking Engel at Döttinger Höhe, in another intense exchange of positions between the two Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo cars. Shortly after, the two even touched wheels at about 270 km/h, forcing Engel to put two wheels on the grass to avoid a bigger accident.
Even after three hours of repairs, the Mercedes #3 returned to the track only in the final minutes and finished only in 39th overall position. Behind the winning Mercedes, the Lamborghini #84 from ABT took second place after surviving an 86-second penalty for speeding under Code 60 flag. The Aston Martin #34 from Walkenhorst completed the podium and secured the best result for the brand in the history of the 24 Hours of Nürburgring.
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