Mercedes announce Nurburgring 24 Hours ban for F1 star

Mercedes

Mercedes announce Nurburgring 24 Hours ban for F1 star

Mercedes have a put a stop to this F1 driver's Nurburgring dreams

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Tuesday 19 May 2026 08:14

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Mercedes have put a stop to the wild dreams of one F1 star after the 2026 edition of the Nurburgring 24 Hours saw Max Verstappen's victory hopes crushed at the wheel of the German giant's machinery.

Verstappen made his 24-hour debut on the Nordschleife last weekend with team-mates Dani Juncadella, Lucas Auer and Jules Gounon, with the four-time F1 champion bringing in a record-breaking crowd.

The iconic endurance race even sold out for the first time in its 56-year history thanks to what has now been dubbed, 'the Max Verstappen effect'.

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After a nail-biting double driving stint in the No.3 car for the Red Bull F1 star on Sunday, Spanish driver Juncadella took over with just over three hours to go and led the pack with a 30-second advantage.

However, he came straight back into the pits after just two laps and the Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo was swiftly wheeled back into the garage for further inspection, sitting out of the race until the final 20 minutes as mechanics worked tirelessly to solve a driveshaft issue.

Juncadella got back in the car for a short final stint and managed to cross the line, but sadly the team who had a genuine shot at victory had to settle for a final result of P37.

But it wasn't all doom and gloom for Mercedes, who still got their win thanks to the No.80 Mercedes-AMG Team Ravenol car, driven by Maro Engel, Luca Stolz, Fabian Schiller and Maxime Martin.

F1 HEADLINES: Red Bull get ‘serious’ about Verstappen exit as Nurburgring 24 Hours promotion confirmed

No Nurburgring for Antonelli, says Mercedes

So, after finally achieving a victory on the legendary Nurburgring circuit in the 24-hour event, what do Mercedes make of the chances of their own F1 stars having a go at the overnight race?

Slim to none is the resounding verdict.

We doubt George Russell will be too impacted by this. The Brit already joked that it would perhaps be worth waiting until like Verstappen, he has four drivers' championships to his name before he allows himself to get distracted by the Nurburgring.

For his team-mate Kimi Antonelli on the other hand, the news that Mercedes F1's deputy team principal Bradley Lord won't allow him to follow in Verstappen's footsteps for the time being may be a bitter pill to swallow.

The Italian sensation currently leads the drivers' championship ahead of Russell by 20 points and recently spoke of his wish to obtain the DMSB Nordschleife Permit (DPN) necessary to compete in the Nurburgring 24 Hours.

But when Lord was asked during last weekend's 24-hour extravaganza whether Mercedes would allow the 19-year-old to get the permit needed to race on the Green Hell, Lord was quoted by Motorsport.com as bluntly saying: "No."

Continuing to explain his reasoning, Lord said: "I’ve spoken to him about it. I think he meant it more as a joke," before adding with a smile that Antonelli might, "give it a try after four world championships."

This of course was yet another nod to Verstappen, who the Mercedes representative felt, "perhaps has a bit more range thanks to his experience" compared with the Italian teenager.

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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F1 Mercedes Kimi Antonelli Nürburgring Nurburgring Nordschleife 24 Hours of Nurburgring