Max Verstappen, a four-time F1 champion, has been disqualified from the NLS Race 2 at Nordschleife-Nurburgring. The Red Bull star, along with his teammates, lost their victory at the “green hell” after displaying a commanding performance.
With F1 not competing this weekend, Verstappen participated in the NLS (Nurburgring Langstrecken-Serie) at Nordschleife. Earlier this year, the Dutchman had announced his participation with the #3 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 under the Verstappen Racing banner, featuring a Red Bull livery.
Verstappen secured pole position with a 1.9-second lead over the #16 Audi in second place and showcased remarkable dominance in the NLS Race 2, finishing nearly a minute ahead. However, shortly after the race concluded, the governing body disqualified the #3 Winward Racing team due to a breach of the DMSB (Deutscher Motor Sport Bund) tire regulations.
The disqualification was due to Verstappen and his team using seven sets of tires instead of the allowed six, as per the DMSB regulations. Consequently, the #99 BMW M4 GT3 from ROWE RACING was declared the winner after the disqualification.
The official documents stated that Verstappen’s entry violated the DMSB Regulations Standard Tire Procedure for NLS, specifically “exceeding the maximum permitted number of tires” as per the regulations.
“The team used a total of 28 individual tires on car #3 during the event. This exceeds the maximum permitted number of 24 individual tires for a 4-hour race,” stated the official disqualification document.
Approximately two hours post-celebration, the technical commission’s review using the Tyre App revealed that the #3 Mercedes AMG GT3 had used seven sets of tires instead of the permitted six.
Winward Racing Team Principal Christian Hohenadel reacts to Max Verstappen and Co’s disqualification in the #3 Mercedes entry
Max Verstappen, along with teammates Daniel Juncadella and Jules Gounon, dominated the NLS Race 2, leading for over three-quarters of the four-hour race. The disqualification following such a strong performance was a blow to both the team and the drivers.
Winward Racing Team Principal Christian Hohenadel issued a statement after the disqualification, which read,
“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 apologize to everyone who was rooting for us. We will now thoroughly analyze the day, meticulously prepare for the remaining races, and work toward the ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring with full concentration.”
Max Verstappen is set to return to the Nordschleife for the 24 Hours of Nurburgring later this year in May.
Edited by Pranay Bhagi
