Nurburgring 24 Hours victory hopes crushed for F1 champion Max Verstappen as technical issue confirmed

Max Verstappen, Verstappen Racing, Nurburgring, 2026 — Photo: © IMAGO

Nurburgring 24 Hours

Max Verstappen Nurburgring 24 Hours victory hopes crushed as technical issue confirmed

A heartbreaking end to Max Verstappen's maiden Nurburgring 24 Hours campaign

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Sunday 17 May 2026 12:32

F1 champion Max Verstappen's attempt to win the Nurburgring 24 Hours has come to a heartbreaking end after a late issue with the No. 3 Mercedes-AMG Winward Racing car.

The Dutchman had just completed a double stint behind the wheel of the Mercedes-AMG and managed to build a 30-second lead over Team Ravenol’s No. 80 in the other Mercedes car.

When Dani Juncadella took over from Verstappen during a scheduled pit stop, everything seemed on track for a historic victory for Verstappen, Juncadella, Lucas Auer and Jules Gounon, until the Spaniard encountered trouble on his out lap.

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The No.3 was seen entering the pits with the mechanics rushing to address the problems with the Winward Racing car, only to be wheeled into the garage as their issues deepened.

What once appeared to be a nailed on victory, suddenly cascaded into despair as the No. 80 car took over for the lead and Verstappen Racing tumbled down the order as they tried to decipher the issue.

WATCH LIVE: Verstappen team suffer major problem

Why did Verstappen Racing lose Nurburgring 24 Hours race lead?

Steve Buschmann, the CEO of Winward Racing – the team behind Verstappen Racing – was clearly frustrated by the unexpected issues that surfaced late in the race and explained what caused their misfortune.

"This is purely a technical issue on the right rear," Buschmann explained to media including GPFans.

"There was no contact with any other car—it’s entirely a mechanical fault. It’s incredibly frustrating. We’re working in the garage, trying to fix the problem so we can get back out there. Right now, we don’t expect the same issue to affect any other car."

Stefan Wendl, head of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing, provided some additional insight. Initially, Juncadella received an ABS warning, and soon after, he began to experience vibrations. All signs point to a broken drive shaft being at the heart of the problem.

Max Verstappen Nürburgring 24 Hours of Nurburgring