Mercedes-AMG Motorsport begins the 2026 Nürburgring season with mixed feelings

• Max Verstappen (NED), Jules Gounon (AND) and Daniel Juncadella (ESP), who lined up for the Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing #3, crossed the finish line first but were subsequently disqualified.
• An analysis of the so-called Tyre App by the Technical Commission revealed that the team had used seven sets of tyres on race day instead of the permitted six.
• During qualifying in the morning, the team routinely exercised several driver and tyre changes. A mistake was made during this process, which ultimately led to the disqualification.
• For Winward Racing, which managed the operational side of the Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing entry, this was their first Performance Team outing alongside Mercedes-AMG Motorsport at the Nürburgring.
• Team Principal Christian Hohenadel explained that an error in the team’s procedures was the cause of the incorrect number of tyre sets and expressed his disappointment at the final result.
• The Mercedes-AMG Team RAVENOL #80, driven by Maxime Martin (BEL) and Fabian Schiller (GER), made contact with another car in qualifying and had to start the race from the pit lane following repairs.
• Alongside the two Performance Cars, two further Mercedes-AMG GT3s and a Mercedes-AMG GT4 lined up on the grid: KCMG #47 (Class: SP9 PRO) – making their debut in a Mercedes-AMG GT3 – finished in tenth place, whilst Toyo Tires with Ring Racing #32 (Class: SP9 PRO-AM) finished the race in 17th place. PROsport Racing #176 (Class: SP10) took the class victory in a Mercedes-AMG GT4.
  
  

“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.”
Stefan Wendl, Head of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing