How the Nürburgring 24H was flipped on its head after Verstappen Racing’s issue

The final stretch would unravel relatively quickly, with the biggest talking point being Verstappen Racing suffering a technical failure. The team had a firm grasp on the race lead, with over 33 seconds courtesy of brilliant double stints earlier in the day from Lucas Auer and subsequently Max Verstappen.

However, things would soon take a turn for the worse for the Verstappen Racing outfit, with Dani Juncadella at the wheel. The veteran Spaniard, who had continued to extend the lead atop the timing sheet ahead of the #80 sister Mercedes outfit, would suffer an issue with the driveshaft. The #3 crew had tried to manage the issue after initially noticing the problem, but the 35-year-old was forced to pit after the car began making loud noises.

The team would subsequently confirm it had suffered a broken rear-right driveshaft but continued to work to fix the car in order to at least take the chequered flag.

The incident reshuffled the running order. Below is the classification of the field with under two hours to go in the 24-hour race:

After the rear-right driveshaft problem suffered by the #3 Mercedes with Dani Juncadella at the wheel, Stefan Wendl, Head of Customer Racing at Mercedes-AMG Motorsport, diagnosed the issue encountered by the team.

Explaining the incident, Wendl outlined when the team first detected the problem and how their attempts to manage it quickly escalated into a more serious failure. The Mercedes chief 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.

Verstappen also explained his growing appreciation for GT3 machinery following his outing. The four-time Formula 1 world champion highlighted the appeal of endurance racing, the shared-team dynamic, and the challenge of the circuit itself.

Earlier, 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.

Speaking to the media after stepping out of the car, Auer praised the consistency of his run while stressing his focus on staying out of trouble in tricky conditions, with the weather still a key factor.

“So the second double stint for me was actually quite clean, quite good. I tried to keep it safe, but overall it was all good, and the track is also in good condition. So let's see what the weather does now,” he said.