The 2026 Formula 1 season is not off to a good start for Max Verstappen. Red Bull has been unable to provide the four-time World Champion with a competitive, reliable car, and he's made no secret of his disdain for the sport's new regulations.
On Saturday, Verstappen took a break from F1 to drive in a four-hour NLS Nordschleife race at the Nürburgring in Germany, part of the Dutchman's plan to compete in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring in May.
Verstappen proved himself a force to be reckoned with when, competing in the GT3 class, he landed pole position on the full 24.358km configuration of the Nürburgring by nearly two seconds. Alongside co-drivers, Frenchman Jules Gounon and Spaniard Daniel Juncadella, Verstappen drove his Mercedes car to a dominant win with a lead of nearly a minute.
Unfortunately, hours after celebrating victory, Verstappen and his teammates were informed that they had been disqualified from the race. That was a result of a team error, which saw them use seven sets of tyres when only six are permitted.
During qualifying in the morning, it's said that the team routinely performed several driver and tyre changes. However, an error occurred during that process, ultimately leading to the disqualification.
For Winward Racing, which handled the operational aspects for the Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing, it was their first time working with Mercedes-AMG Motorsport at the Nürburgring. Team boss Christian Hohenadel has since explained that an error in the team's procedures led to an incorrect number of tyre sets being used and expressed his disappointment with the final result.
In a statement, Stefan Wendl, Head of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing, said:
"The NLS weekend will remain in our memories for a long time: We saw pure racing on the track, experienced an exceptional atmosphere, and were initially thrilled with what we thought was a race win. The disappointment was all the greater when we realized that we had made a mistake behind the scenes that morning, forcing race control to disqualify the winning car. This hurts, and of course, everyone involved is very disappointed."
"It shows once again that you can only win on the Nordschleife when everything comes together perfectly. Winward Racing, who managed the deployment of the two performance cars, were competing in the NLS for the first time in this configuration. Now it's important to analyze the mistakes, while also taking the positive lessons from the weekend and focusing on the upcoming preparation runs and the 24-hour race."
So, a weekend of highs and lows for Verstappen, but after this impressive performance, all eyes will be on what he can bring to the table during the 24 Hours of Nürburgring later this year.