Verstappen shares message after painful Nurburgring 24h outcome: 'We'll be back!'

The Frenchman, one of the four drivers who made up Verstappen Racing’s line-up during the long Nordschleife weekend, did not hide his huge disappointment over the outcome of the race. The quartet had spent most of the event leading the field, only for a driveshaft issue to cruelly bring their dreams of victory to an end in the closing stages.

Maro Engel, Luca Stolz, Fabian Schiller and Maxime Martin inherited the lead in the closing stages before going on to take overall honours. The #84 Red Bull Team ABT Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Pro of Luca Engstler, Mirko Bortolotti and Patric Niederhauser followed in second place, while the #34 Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Pro driven by Christian Krognes, Mattia Drudi, Nicki Thiim and Felipe Fernandez Laser rounded out the top three.

In a post shared on Instagram shortly after the chequered flag, Gounon admitted the disappointment felt by the team was hard to put into words. The Frenchman explained that everything had been going perfectly alongside Verstappen, Auer and Juncadella before the “Green Hell” once again showed its brutal side. He also thanked the entire team for its effort across the weekend, before admitting he would need some time to process the painful result.

The post quickly attracted plenty of supportive messages from fans, including one from the four-time world champion himself. Verstappen encouraged his teammate to keep his head up, replying with a short yet meaningful message: “We’ll be back mate.”

The heartbreak was impossible to hide inside the Verstappen Racing garage after the team’s Nürburgring 24 Hours campaign ended in dramatic fashion despite spending most of the race fighting for victory at the front of the field. With only a few hours remaining, as reported earlier on, a technical issue suddenly brought the #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3’s race to an end, crushing what had looked like a genuine shot at overall glory.

In the aftermath, some questioned whether Verstappen’s intense overnight battle with Engel could have contributed to the problem that later forced the car into retirement. Juncadella, however, did not share that view, with the Spaniard dismissing any suggestion that the earlier contact was responsible and instead describing the failure as one of the cruel realities that can always strike in endurance racing.