Mercedes-AMG boss reveals shock failure that shattered Verstappen's Nürburgring race

Verstappen Racing’s strong hold on the race unravelled after Dani Juncadella, who had taken over from Max Verstappen, was forced into an unscheduled stop. The Spaniard, who had continued to build pace and extend his advantage at the top of the timing sheets, was only able to complete two further laps before returning to the pits.

Explaining the incident that ultimately compromised the #3 Mercedes entry, Wendl outlined when the team first detected the problem and how their attempts to manage it quickly escalated into a more serious failure.

“After the pitstop from Max to Dani, Dani reported on the outlap an ABS failure, which leads us to assume that there is an electrical failure. We try to reset, and on the first lap he could continue without losing too much time. We prepared a pit stop and repair work, but in the second lap he figured out that there’s a noise and also vibration, which meant he had to come in and return slowly to the pit,” he explained.

Wendl went on to detail the extent of the damage discovered once the car was brought back to the garage, confirming issues around the drivetrain that would require significant repair work. Despite the setback, he stressed the team’s determination to get the car back out on track in the closing hours of the race.

“There we figured out that the driveshaft is broken and due to this damage also there’s been major damage in areas around the driveshaft, which makes a longer repair necessary. So we put our heads together. It’s very disappointing for the drivers, but still we decided to repair the car and send it out for the last 2–3 laps to present it to the fans and to the public, which has been cheering with us for 20 hours, and try to push us to the win," he concluded.

Earlier, Lucas Auer shared his thoughts after completing a double morning stint for Verstappen Racing at the Nürburgring 24 Hours.

The Austrian driver, who took over from Jules Gounon shortly after sunrise, delivered two clean stints to keep the team firmly in control at the front. Auer maintained a lead of around five seconds before handing the car over to Verstappen. The 31-year-old reflected positively on his time behind the wheel at the demanding Nordschleife.