Mercedes has reacted to the ‘hurtful’ disqualification that cost Max Verstappen, Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella victory in Saturday’s NLS Nordschleife race.
The #3 Winward Racing Mercedes dominated the delayed season opener of the Nurburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS) from pole, but were disqualified post-race.
This was because the team used seven sets of tyres as opposed to the permitted allowance of six, with the error occurring during extensive pitstop practices in qualifying.
Mercedes-AMG boss Stefan 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.”
Stefan Wendl, Mercedes AMG
Photo by: Alexander Trienitz
It duly handed victory to Rowe Racing BMW duo Dan Harper and Jordan Pepper on what was Winward’s first outing on the Nordschleife under its current name; Winward predecessor HTP Motorsport was a regular contender at the Nurburgring.
Wendl added: “Now we need to analyse the mistakes, while also taking the positive lessons from the weekend on board and focusing on the remaining preparatory races as well as the 24-hour race.”
This is all serving as preparation for the Nurburgring 24 Hours on 14-17 May.
Dominant display with abrupt ending
In spite of the disqualification, it was a performance masterclass from the Winward trio who crossed the line by nearly a minute over Harper and Pepper.
It would have been the four-time F1 champion’s second GT3 win at the Nordschleife in as many races, following an equally dominant display at the eighth round of the championship in September 2025. Back then, he competed in an Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3.
Asked in parc ferme pre-disqualification whether things could get any better than winning his second GT3 race in two attempts, Verstappen said: “Yeah, it could be a lot worse. Also, winning in two different cars is great.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
“For me, this whole weekend was about getting a feel for the car on the Nordschleife. I was really happy with that. The team prepared the car very well, so we were able to test quite a bit, and I felt very comfortable. It was a very good experience for me to race here today.”
When asked if he will return on 11 April – a date made available by the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian grands prix – Verstappen raised hopes, claiming he’ll “look into it”.
“It depends on whether everything works out,” he said. “I’m always happy to race here. It’s one of the craziest tracks in the world, in a positive way. I’ve been watching it for a long time and it’s just one of those races you want to compete in.”
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– The Autosport.com Team
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