Daniel Juncadella, one of Max Verstappen\u2019s Mercedes GT3 teammates, has revealed an awkward moment ahead of the start of Saturday\u2019s race at the Nurburgring.<\/p>\n
After participating in a number of races at the Nordschleife last year, Verstappen announced earlier this month that he will enter the Nurburgring 24 hours in May.<\/p>\n
Max Verstappen suffers Nurburgring DSQ<\/p>\n
Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google<\/a> to your favourites list for news you can trust<\/p>\n The four-time F1 world champion returned to the German circuit on Saturday to take part in an NLS race behind the wheel of a Red Bull-branded Mercedes-AMG GT3 car.<\/p>\n Verstappen, along with teammates Juncadella and Jules Gounon, dominated the day\u2019s action, claiming pole position by 1.9 seconds and winning the race by almost a minute.<\/p>\n However, the trio were disqualified hours after the race due to a tyre infringement.<\/p>\n Max Verstappen vs Isack Hadjar: Red Bull head-to-head stats for F1 2026 season<\/p>\n F1 2026: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between teammates<\/a><\/p>\n F1 2026: Head-to-head race statistics between teammates<\/a><\/p>\n It emerged that the winning car had used a total of seven sets of tyres over the course of qualifying and the race combined, one more than the permitted maximum of six.<\/p>\n Verstappen\u2019s presence at the Nurburgring attracted huge attention, with Saturday\u2019s race brought forward by seven days to allow the F1 star to compete on a free weekend between the Chinese and Japanese grands prix.<\/p>\n And Juncadella, a simulator driver for the Aston Martin F1 team, has revealed an awkward moment before the start of the race at the Nurburgring.<\/p>\n With a large crowd gathering around the Mercedes on the grid, Juncadella quipped that he could hear onlookers sighing when he, not Verstappen, climbed out of the car.<\/p>\n In a post to social media, he wrote: \u201cDon\u2019t worry guys, everyone around the car also expected it was Max jumping out of the car.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen they saw it was me there was a disappointing \u2018ohhhh\u2019 flying around.\u201d<\/p>\n His comment was accompanied by a laughing emoji and a thumbs up.<\/p>\n Juncadella, 34, spent a single season as Aston Martin\u2019s reserve driver in 2014 when the Silverstone-based team was still competing under the banner of Force India.<\/p>\n He appeared in a total of three FP1 sessions in Britain, Italy and Brazil, where he crashed out of the session.<\/p>\n It proved to be Juncadella\u2019s last appearance on an official F1 race weekend with the Spaniard going on to compete in DTM, GT World Challenge, IMSA and the World Endurance Championship.<\/p>\n Juncadella\u2019s final F1 practice appearance at Interlagos in 2014 coincided with Verstappen\u2019s third FP1 outing with Toro Rosso ahead of his debut season in 2015.<\/p>\n Verstappen\u2019s Brazil 2014 appearance is best remembered for a breathtaking save at the downhill left hander known as Mergulho.<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n