Max Verstappen stunned by Mercedes issue at Nurburgring: "That was very strange"

Max Verstappen looking pensive at the 24h Nurburgring qualifiers — Photo: © IMAGO

Max Verstappen at the Nurburgring

Max Verstappen stunned by Mercedes issue at Nurburgring: "That was very strange"

Max Verstappen's Nurburgring adventure hit huge problems after Mercedes issues

By Remy Ramjiawan.

Sunday 19 April 2026 17:57

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Max Verstappen was dumbfounded over what caused the damage that forced him to withdraw from his battle for victory at the Nurburgring Nordschleife on Sunday.

Verstappen started from P5 and quickly clawed his way up to third place. Soon after, he found himself locked in a fight for the lead with Christopher Haase, the same rival he had duelled during the NLS2 race.

Unfortunately, his bid for a win was cut short about forty minutes into his second stint when he entered the pit lane with noticeable damage.

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Verstappen's Mercedes was stuck in the garage for 28 minutes and 15 seconds before taking to the track again with the four-time F1 champion's team-mate Lucas Auer.

Verstappen on Mercedes: 'Bizarre damage'

Speaking to Viaplay, Verstappen explained: “In the second lap of my second stint, I suddenly felt severe vibrations. At the same time, I heard the splitter clattering harshly, and I immediately realised it had broken off. It was very strange.”

He added, “I didn’t make contact with anyone, so I’m at a loss as to how this happened. We’ll have to find out exactly where things went wrong. There are other Mercedes cars out there performing well, so hopefully we can work through this issue.”

Mercedes finish way down field

While Auer got running again, the Austrian and Verstappen's car lost far too much time to make their way significantly back up the field, eventually placing 39th in a race won by Ben Green, Christopher Haase, and Alexander Sims in an Audi from Scherer Sport PHX.