Four-time Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen and the crew of the No.3 Winward Racing Mercedes have had their Nurburgring NLS2 win stripped from them over a tyre error.
Red Bull F1 driver Max Verstappen made his Nurburgring debut last year in a Red Bull-branded Ferrari, as he took the first steps towards competing in the Nurburgring 24 Hours with a victory.
After a calendar reshuffle to avoid F1 clashes, which was pushed for by Mercedes and Toto Wolff, the Nurburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS) welcomed Verstappen back this weekend in the No.3 Winward Mercedes-AMG GT3 alongside Joules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella.
Marking his first outing in a Mercedes, Verstappen and the No.3 car qualified on pole ahead of Saturday’s four-hour NLS2 race.
Holding the lead at the start the No.3, with Verstappen behind the wheel, was overhauled early by the No.16 Audi driven by Christopher Haase.
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Verstappen hounded the No.16 across his first stint and eventually took the lead before handing the car over to Juncadella for the second stint.
The No.3 lost the lead at its driver change, but was soon back in the lead, with Gounon taking over for the third stint before Verstappen took to the car again for close to the race.
After 29 laps, Verstappen and the No.3 car got to the chequered flag just under a minute clear of the No.99 entry.
It marked Verstappen’s second win at the Nurburgring and first with Mercedes, though it was later stripped from him after the No.3 crew was found to have used an extra set of tyres than is permitted by the rules.
A statement from the organisers read: “After crossing the finish line at the second round of the ADAC RAVENOL Nurburgring Langstrecken-Serie, Max Verstappen, Daniel Juncadella, and Jules Gounon celebrated their first victory of the season in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing.
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“About two hours later, reality set in. During the technical commission’s routine review of the so-called Tyre App, it was discovered that the team had used seven sets of tires on race day instead of the permitted six.
“The stewards were thus forced to disqualify the car. The victory was inherited by Dan Harper and Jordan Pepper in the BMW M4 GT3 from ROWE RACING.
Christian Hohenadel, Team Principal of Winward Racing, added: “The disqualification hurts. Unfortunately, a mistake was made within the team that forced race control to retroactively disqualify the winning car.
“For us, this was our first outing as a Mercedes-AMG Performance team on the Nürburgring Nordschleife. I would like to apologise to everyone who was rooting for us. We will now thoroughly analyse the day, meticulously prepare for the remaining races, and work toward the ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring with full concentration.”
With the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix cancelled due to the conflict in the Middle East, Verstappen says he is exploring the possibility of taking part in NLS3 on 11 April.
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“Well, for me this is one of the craziest tracks in the world,” he added.
“I’ve been watching this for a very long time, and it’s just one of these races that you want to compete in.
“At least finally, this year I have the chance to do it. It also depends a bit on what the calendar allows me to do.
“I’m already racing a lot. I will try to do as much as I can. We’re looking into it [NLS3]. It just all depends if it’s all feasible. But I’m always happy to race here.”
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