Mercedes break silence following shock disqualification setback

Photo: © IMAGO

Mercedes

Mercedes break silence following shock disqualification setback

Mercedes have been stripped of a race victory

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Monday 23 March 2026 19:00

Mercedes have issued an official response after suffering a major blow in the form of a post-race disqualification following what had initially been a victory.

The German outfit had made a strong start to the 2026 F1 season, quickly establishing themselves at the top of both the drivers’ and constructors’ standings thanks to the performances of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.

Both drivers had already claimed a race win apiece in the opening rounds, appearing to thrive with the team’s new car under the latest regulations before the disqualification drama cast a shadow over their early success.

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The same however cannot be said for four-time champion Max Verstappen, who has only managed to pick up eight points in 2026 at the wheel of his RB22 which he finds 'emotionally draining' to drive.

So when the Dutchman returned to the Nurburgring at the wheel of a Mercedes-AMG during a weekend away from F1, he was hoping to take his mind off his nightmare start to 2026.

But just hours after crossing the line, the trio representing Mercedes and Verstappen Racing were all disqualified.

Why was Max Verstappen's Mercedes team disqualified from the Nurburgring race?

After Verstappen's second victory around the Green Hell, post-race inspections found the Winward Mercedes-AMG team had used seven sets of tyres instead of the maximum six.

As a result, the race stewards intervened and stripped Verstappen and the No.3 car of the race win due to the violation of the regulations.

Now, an official statement from Stefan Wendl, Head of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing, has detailed the 'disappointment' felt by all at the iconic motorsport brand.

In the statement following the disqualification, 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.

"It shows once again that you can only win on the Nordschleife if everything comes together. Winward Racing, who managed the deployment of the two Performance cars, were competing in this line-up for the first time in the NLS.

"Now we need to analyse the mistakes, whilst also taking the positive lessons from the weekend on board and focusing on the remaining preparatory races as well as the 24-hour race."

When is the next F1 race?

Both Verstappen and the Mercedes brand will get the chance to redeem themselves on the F1 calendar next time out.

After a fast turnaround between the 2026 season opener and the second round, fans and drivers can breathe easy for a moment given that there is now a week off until the third race weekend of the championship.

The next grand prix is not until Sunday, March 29 in Suzuka as the Japanese Grand Prix returns before a long break in April following confirmation from F1 that both the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian GPs have been cancelled due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

F1 Max Verstappen Mercedes Nürburgring