The No. 3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing was leading the Nurburgring 24 Hours with a comfortable thirty-second advantage over the No. 80 Mercedes-AMG Team Ravenol. Max Verstappen had just completed his morning shifts and handed the wheel over to Dani Juncadella.
The Spaniard had barely started driving when, suddenly, problems arose on board the Mercedes-AMG GT3, which lost a lot of ground and had to give up the lead to the Mercedes No. 80. Juncadella managed to get the Mercedes to the pit lane, but there he had to go into the garage because the problems are serious.
It’s probably the driveshaft, so the chances of victory seem to have disappeared. At the time of writing these lines, the Mercedes had already dropped back to seventh position and was still on pit lane.
“Unfortunately we have a technical problem on the right rear,” explained Winward Racing team principal Steve Buschmann. “There was no contact, it’s purely a mechanical problem. It’s very frustrating, but the car is now in the pit. We’re going to sort it out and then get back on track immediately.”
Asked if the #80 Mercedes should also be concerned, Buschmann replied: “At the moment we don’t think it affects both cars. We think it is specifically about this car, which means that the problem is not something that will also appear directly in the other car.”
Verstappen was satisfied after his stints
Shortly before the problems, Verstappen, who had completed two stints during the morning, was satisfied with the development of the race up to that point. “It went well,” Verstappen said of his morning runs. “It’s daylight again. I’m trying to be careful while keeping a reasonable pace. It felt good, the car is running well.”
“We just tried to stay out of trouble, although on the last lap it was very exciting because two cars in front of me touched each other. But luckily it ended well,” said Verstappen, who at that moment still looked relieved.
According to Verstappen, he and Mercedes “couldn’t have wished for a better race” up to that point. He also indicated that he will “try” to return next year. “It always depends a little on my schedule. Let’s enjoy this moment,” Verstappen said just after getting out of the car.
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