Verstappen shines on Nürburgring 24H debut before technical failure hands victory to sister Mercedes

In front of an official crowd of 352,000 spectators, the #80 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT mastered the demanding mixed conditions around the Nürburgring Nordschleife to secure Mercedes’ first overall victory at the event since 2016.

For Engel, it marked a second Nürburgring 24 Hours triumph, having also been part of Mercedes’ previous winning line-up a decade earlier. Stolz celebrated his maiden overall win after several podium finishes in past editions, while Schiller improved on his runner-up finish from 2022. Belgian veteran Martin finally secured the elusive overall victory after years of near misses, including four second-place finishes.

The winning car’s route to success was far from straightforward. Engel crashed heavily during Friday qualifying, leaving the Winward mechanics with extensive overnight repair work just to prepare the car for the start. Once the race got underway, however, the #80 entry emerged as arguably the cleanest-running SP9 GT3 contender in an attritional contest packed with changing weather, incidents and strategy gambles.

Yet much of the spotlight throughout the race remained fixed on Verstappen’s highly anticipated 24-hour debut. Sharing the #3 Verstappen Racing-backed Mercedes-AMG with Daniel Juncadella, Jules Gounon and Lucas Auer, the Dutchman immediately established himself as one of the standout performers in the field.

The sister Mercedes moved into the lead before darkness fell on Saturday evening and looked firmly on course for victory deep into Sunday morning. Verstappen delivered several aggressive but controlled stints, including intense battles with Engel as the two Winward entries traded time at the front. The reigning Formula 1 world champion adapted quickly to the unique demands of the Nordschleife, impressing with his pace in traffic and consistency across changing track conditions.

Their biggest rival, the #911 Manthey Porsche, had already dropped out of contention early after Kevin Estre crashed following contact with oil on the circuit.

But with just over three hours remaining, heartbreak struck the leading #3 Mercedes. Shortly after Juncadella took over from Verstappen, the Spaniard was forced to return to the garage with what initially appeared to be an ABS-related electrical issue. Further inspection revealed a broken driveshaft and additional mechanical damage, effectively ending the crew’s hopes of victory.

Although the car was officially out of contention, the team repaired it sufficiently to send it back out in the closing stages as a gesture to the fans who had followed Verstappen’s debut throughout the weekend.

Second place eventually went to the #84 Abt Lamborghini Huracán driven by Mirko Bortolotti, Patric Niederhauser and pole-sitter Luca Engstler. The Lamborghini recovered strongly after early contact with Juncadella on the opening lap caused a puncture, but the crew later had to overcome an 84-second penalty for Code 60 infringements.

Completing the podium in third was the #34 Walkenhorst Aston Martin line-up of Mattia Drudi, Christian Krognes and Nicki Thiim. The trio remained in contention throughout despite fuel-strategy limitations and penalties, narrowly missing out on second place after a late-race Code 60 period affected the final gaps.

Despite the disappointment of missing out on victory, Verstappen’s Nürburgring 24 Hours debut left a major impression. Across one of the world’s toughest endurance races, the Dutchman demonstrated not only raw speed but also maturity, adaptability and endurance-racing awareness, underlining why many already believe a future full-time endurance programme could eventually await him beyond Formula 1.