Max Verstappen shares team pride after breakthrough win

Four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen is finally able to celebrate a win in 2026 thanks to a victory this weekend.

His GT3 racing squad, Verstappen Racing, celebrated victory in the GT World Challenge Europe, thanks to two of the Dutchman's team-mates who he tackled the Nurburgring 24 Hours with earlier this year.

Jules Gounon and Dani Juncadella delivered a dominant performance in Race 1 of the Sprint Cup at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours on a stunning Saturday evening at sunset.

After a penalty at Brands Hatch, and mishaps at Monza, Spa-Francorchamps, and Misano that weren’t their fault, Verstappen Racing finally claimed the top podium spot at Magny-Cours.

Gounon, filling in for Verstappen’s protege Chris Lulham (who is recovering from an appendectomy), was the fastest in qualifying and started from pole.

He built nearly an eight-second lead before handing the car over to Juncadella, who kept the AF Corse Ferrari of Arthur Leclerc and Thomas Neubauer, as well as the Comtoyou-Aston Martin of Kobe Pauwels and Nicki Thiim, at bay until he crossed the finish line first.

F1 HEADLINES: Max Verstappen future to be announced as Fernando Alonso signing priority outlined

Verstappen Racing claim victory after beating Leclerc

"It’s never easy—Sprint Cup races are incredibly hectic," Juncadella said after Verstappen Racing’s first overall GT World Challenge win in which they managed to hold off the younger brother of Ferrari F1 star, Charles Leclerc.

Juncadella continued: "My team-mate did about 80 per cent of the work with fantastic qualifying and an excellent opening stint. He created a comfortable lead so that during our pit stop we could take it a bit easy. I maintained that advantage after the stop, which let me hold on just a bit longer. It feels incredible to secure our first major victory."

Gounon then chimed in, laughing as he said: "Honestly, once Dani got behind the wheel, I stepped out of the garage, grabbed some Nutella, and just enjoyed the moment...I knew he’d be the one to bring the car across the finish line first. I’m truly happy for the entire team—they work around the clock to deliver such an exceptional car. Hats off to them."

When asked how they managed to fine-tune the Mercedes-AMG so perfectly, the Andorran replied: "We have one person to thank—and that’s Max. He gave us countless opportunities during the winter to test for days on end with great tires. Plus, we boast an amazing team of engineers, with four of them working day and night on this project. Max’s goal was to build one of the world’s best GT3 teams, and today everything came together."

The Red Bull F1 superstar himself then responded to the team's victory post on Instagram, where he couldn't contain his pride.

In a message to his team, Verstappen wrote: "So proud. Well done everyone."

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