Max Verstappen team-mate sheds light on Nurburgring mistake

Verstappen Racing after NLS2 victory — Photo: © IMAGO

Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen team-mate sheds light on Nurburgring mistake

F1 champion Max Verstappen made his Nurburgring return on Saturday

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Sunday 22 March 2026 22:45

A team-mate who drove alongside four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen on Saturday has shed light on a mistake that may have gone otherwise unnoticed at the iconic German track.

Verstappen took to the Green Hell once again after winning on debut last September, this time at the wheel of a Mercedes-AMG.

The Dutchman tackled Saturday's qualifying with Verstappen Racing team-mates Dani Juncadella and Jules Gounon, personally posting the fastest time of a 7:51.751, with the trio going on to initially win the NLS2.

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But just hours after bringing home the victory for the German motorsport giants, the Winward Mercedes-AMG team were disqualified due to to a tyre regulation breach.

F1 HEADLINES: Max Verstappen disqualified after race win as Red Bull ban confirmed

Juncadella clears up Verstappen Nurburgring mix-up

Following the news that Verstappen and his team had been stripped of their win, Head of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing Stefan Wendl said: "The NLS weekend will remain in our memories for a long time: we saw pure racing on the track, experienced an extraordinary day in terms of atmosphere and were initially delighted with the supposed race victory.

"The disappointment was all the greater when we realised that we had made a mistake behind the scenes that morning and the race organisers were forced to disqualify the winning car. That hurts, and naturally everyone involved is very disappointed."

Verstappen, Juncadella and Gounon will be reunited later this year where they will get the chance to redeem themselves at the iconic German circuit, competing for Verstappen Racing once again in the legendary Nurburgring 24 Hours.

Juncadella and Gounon are far more experienced than Verstappen at the challenging Nurburgring Nordschleife, especially when tackling it at night, but they both sang Verstappen's praises following Saturday's race, before their disqualification was announced.

Juncadella even enjoyed soaking up some of the F1 star's glory, taking to social media platform 'X' to reveal that many of the motorsport media mistook him for the Dutchman when he pulled into the pits and got out of his the Mercedes-AMG on Saturday.

In a now-deleted picture of the No.3 car surrounded by a swarm of press and photographers, a Verstappen Racing driver could be seen climbing out of the car.

Whilst many flocked to point out Verstappen's 'aura' in the stunning image, Juncadella revealed that he had to somewhat spoil the party, revealing that it was actually he who had been mistaken for the F1 star whilst his helmet was covering his face.

In response to the image, Juncadella wrote on 'X': "Don’t worry guys, everyone around the car also expected it was Max jumping out of the car.

"When they saw it was me there was a disappointing 'Ohhhh' flying around," with a laughing emoji, showing that the Mercedes driver certainly saw the funny side of the case of mistaken identity.

F1 Max Verstappen Mercedes Nürburgring Nurburgring Nordschleife 24 Hours of Nurburgring