Max Verstappen's Nurburgring win stripped from him over tyre error

4-time Components 1 world champion Max Verstappen and the crew of the No.3 Winward Racing Mercedes have had their Nurburgring NLS2 win stripped from them over a tyre error.

Crimson Bull F1 driver Max Verstappen made his Nurburgring debut final yr in a Crimson Bull-branded Ferrari, as he took the primary steps in direction of competing within the Nurburgring 24 Hours with a victory.

After a calendar reshuffle to keep away from F1 clashes, which was pushed for by Mercedes and Toto Wolff, the Nurburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS) welcomed Verstappen again this weekend within the No.3 Winward Mercedes-AMG GT3 alongside Joules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella.

Marking his first outing in a Mercedes, Verstappen and the No.3 automotive certified on pole forward of Saturday’s four-hour NLS2 race.

Holding the lead firstly the No.3, with Verstappen behind the wheel, was overhauled early by the No.16 Audi pushed by Christopher Haase.

Verstappen hounded the No.16 throughout his first stint and ultimately took the lead earlier than handing the automotive over to Juncadella for the second stint.

The No.3 misplaced the lead at its driver change, however was quickly again within the lead, with Gounon taking up for the third stint earlier than Verstappen took to the automotive once more for near the race.

After 29 laps, Verstappen and the No.3 automotive bought to the chequered flag slightly below a minute away from the No.99 entry.

It marked Verstappen’s second win on the Nurburgring and first with Mercedes, although it was later stripped from him after the No.3 crew was discovered to have used an additional set of tyres than is permitted by the principles.

An announcement from the organisers learn: “After crossing the end line on the second spherical of the ADAC RAVENOL Nurburgring Langstrecken-Serie, Max Verstappen, Daniel Juncadella, and Jules Gounon celebrated their first victory of the season within the Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Mercedes-AMG Workforce Verstappen Racing. 

“About two hours later, actuality set in. In the course of the technical fee’s routine evaluate of the so-called Tyre App, it was found that the group had used seven units of tires on race day as a substitute of the permitted six. 

“The stewards had been thus pressured to disqualify the automotive. The victory was inherited by Dan Harper and Jordan Pepper within the BMW M4 GT3 from ROWE RACING.

Christian Hohenadel, Workforce Principal of Winward Racing, added: “The disqualification hurts. Sadly, a mistake was made throughout the group that pressured race management to retroactively disqualify the successful automotive. 

“For us, this was our first outing as a Mercedes-AMG Efficiency group on the Nürburgring Nordschleife. I wish to apologise to everybody who was rooting for us. We are going to now completely analyse the day, meticulously put together for the remaining races, and work towards the ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring with full focus.”

With the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix cancelled because of the battle within the Center East, Verstappen says he’s exploring the opportunity of participating in NLS3 on 11 April.

“Effectively, for me this is without doubt one of the craziest tracks on the planet,” he added.

“I’ve been watching this for a really very long time, and it’s simply certainly one of these races that you simply wish to compete in.

“No less than lastly, this yr I’ve the possibility to do it. It additionally relies upon a bit on what the calendar permits me to do.

“I’m already racing so much. I’ll attempt to do as a lot as I can. We’re trying into it [NLS3]. It simply all relies upon if it’s all possible. However I’m all the time completely satisfied to race right here.”