Verstappen and the missed victory at the Ring: “Frustrating, but it can happen”

A technical knockout made the victory slip away. Max Verstappen, Daniel Juncadella, Lucas Auer and Jules Gounon were heading towards victory in the 24 hours of the Nurburgring when the #3 Mercedes suffered a driveshaft failure while Dani Juncadella was behind the wheel. “A truly unfortunate and frustrating ending, but these things can happen – Max Verstappen’s post on Instagram – I still had a lot of fun together with my crew mates. I thank the team and everyone who came to the track to support us.” Also on social media, Gounon also expressed all his disappointment: “The word ‘devastated’ probably doesn’t even remotely convey the idea of what we feel in this moment – the words of Jules Gounon – we were doing everything perfectly, but the Green Hell had other plans. It’s incredible how this sport can give you the most intense emotions and, a moment later, make you feel three meters under the ground. In the end, a problem three hours from the end deprived us of the victory. A huge thank you to the whole team for incredible work and commitment. I need some time to process this disappointment.”

Automobile Magazine – F1 English News , 2026-05-18 03:55:00