Mercedes boss sees partnership with Verstappen as a major success

Earlier this year, Wendl was already effusive in conversation with GPblog about Verstappen’s involvement in the GT3 project. For the brand from Affalterbach, it was an honor that the Dutchman chose their GT3 car, after having raced with Aston Martin and Ferrari in 2025. According to Wendl, it led to a boost for the entire grid on the Nordschleife, with Mercedes-AMG noticing that all manufacturers wanted to push even harder than usual.

Midway through the season, Wendl emphasized that again. He looked back on the successes the German manufacturer has already achieved this year: “For me, it is the sum of all our successes. However, it’s no secret that we’ve been waiting ten years for overall victory at the Nürburgring 24-hour race.”

Unfortunately, due to a technical issue, Verstappen Racing did not make it to the finish of the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring, but Verstappen’s participation meant a lot: “Max Verstappen competing in a race with our Mercedes-AMG GT3 and his team’s switch to Mercedes-AMG Motorsport were also highlights. They brought additional attention to the Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing Programme and sparked a boom in GT racing as a whole,” the German praised.

Wendl is proud of the customer teams competing in all sorts of classes around the world: IMSA, DTM, WEC, NLS, GT World Challenge Europe, British GT, Italian GT, and many more. Mercedes-AMG Motorsport especially touts the fact that the Mercedes-AMG GT3 is still incredibly competitive, even though it is one of the oldest platforms on the grid: “We can say with conviction that it is one of the most successful programmes of its kind worldwide. I am particularly pleased that the Mercedes-AMG GT3, which made its debut in 2016 and was updated in 2020, remains absolutely competitive today.”

Behind the scenes, Mercedes is working hard on the ‘Evo’ car: the Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series. The goal may be to have the car homologated and race-ready in 2027, but that is not yet certain. For now, the focus is on the current car to finish the season successfully: “The key will be to make the most of our very strong starting position, build on our successes so far, and turn these into further victories and titles. That will require maximum focus and consistency from everyone involved, as well as race weekends that are as close to faultless as possible.”

At the same time, the Mercedes-AMG executive pointed out that they will face a challenging second half of the season. Since the manufacturer competes in so many different racing classes, there is a lot of overlap in the calendar. That demands a lot from the staff and from the drivers, who sometimes have to make choices regarding the race schedule: “Careful planning will therefore be essential if we are to maximise our opportunities in each championship,” Wendl explained.