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Nearly a month after the 2026 Nürburgring 24 Hours concluded, the final standings have been changed, and Max Verstappen‘s squad has moved up one more spot as a result.
Team Abt, which crossed the line second overall, has been retrospectively disqualified following a technical infringement, with stewards formalising the decision on June 12.
An inspection of the #84 Lamborghini following the race found its power output running beyond the tolerance margins set by the Balance of Performance regulations.
Six SP9-class GT3 cars were put through routine dynamometer testing in the days after the race; the Abt car was the only one to fail, with entries from Aston Martin, BMW, Ford, Mercedes-AMG, and Porsche all cleared.
Reports suggest the #84 was producing around 20 horsepower above the permitted reference value, with the allowable tolerance sitting at two percent, equivalent to roughly 10 hp from an estimated 500 hp baseline.
That’s a meaningful gap and not just a small error.
Behind overall winner Mercedes-AMG Team RAVENOL – Maro Engel, Luca Stolz, Fabian Schiller, and Maxime Martin – the Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO of Christian Krognes, Mattia Drudi, and Nicki Thiim has been elevated to second place.
Rowe Racing‘s BMW M4 GT3, shared by Daniel Harper, Max Hesse, Sheldon van der Linde, and Dries Vanthoor, now occupies third.
Further down the order, the Verstappen Racing #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 has been bumped to 36th overall.
Verstappen’s part in the event drew a record crowd of 352,000 to the Eifel region, so the result – however modest on paper – will have been watched closely. The car had run with Jules Gounon, Lucas Auer, and Daniel Juncadella alongside the four-time F1 champion, and looked firmly on course for victory with under four hours remaining, leading what appeared to be a comfortable 1-2 for the Winward Mercedes operation.
A driveshaft failure on Juncadella’s watch ended that, handing the lead to the sister #80 car with Maro Engel at the wheel.
Juncadella was generous in his assessment of Verstappen’s performance in the race, telling PlanetF1.com: “The more I see him drive, the more I see how incredible he is.”
With Abt electing not to appeal the stewards’ ruling, the 54th edition of the Nürburgring 24 Hours now has its definitive classification.
Verstappen has already said he wants to return next year, and there is reportedly a reasonable chance the 2027 event – pencilled in for May 27–30 – won’t conflict with an F1 round. Finishing 36th instead of 37th isn’t exactly the result he came for, but given the driveshaft robbed him of an outright win, he’ll probably take it.
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Team Abt, which crossed the line second overall, has been retrospectively disqualified following a technical infringement, with stewards formalising the decision on June 12.
An inspection of the #84 Lamborghini following the race found its power output running beyond the tolerance margins set by the Balance of Performance regulations.
Six SP9-class GT3 cars were put through routine dynamometer testing in the days after the race; the Abt car was the only one to fail, with entries from Aston Martin, BMW, Ford, Mercedes-AMG, and Porsche all cleared.
Reports suggest the #84 was producing around 20 horsepower above the permitted reference value, with the allowable tolerance sitting at two percent, equivalent to roughly 10 hp from an estimated 500 hp baseline.
That’s a meaningful gap and not just a small error.
How the Revised Podium and Classification Look
Behind overall winner Mercedes-AMG Team RAVENOL – Maro Engel, Luca Stolz, Fabian Schiller, and Maxime Martin – the Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO of Christian Krognes, Mattia Drudi, and Nicki Thiim has been elevated to second place.
Rowe Racing‘s BMW M4 GT3, shared by Daniel Harper, Max Hesse, Sheldon van der Linde, and Dries Vanthoor, now occupies third.
Further down the order, the Verstappen Racing #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 has been bumped to 36th overall.
Verstappen’s part in the event drew a record crowd of 352,000 to the Eifel region, so the result – however modest on paper – will have been watched closely. The car had run with Jules Gounon, Lucas Auer, and Daniel Juncadella alongside the four-time F1 champion, and looked firmly on course for victory with under four hours remaining, leading what appeared to be a comfortable 1-2 for the Winward Mercedes operation.
A driveshaft failure on Juncadella’s watch ended that, handing the lead to the sister #80 car with Maro Engel at the wheel.
Juncadella was generous in his assessment of Verstappen’s performance in the race, telling PlanetF1.com: “The more I see him drive, the more I see how incredible he is.”
With Abt electing not to appeal the stewards’ ruling, the 54th edition of the Nürburgring 24 Hours now has its definitive classification.
Verstappen has already said he wants to return next year, and there is reportedly a reasonable chance the 2027 event – pencilled in for May 27–30 – won’t conflict with an F1 round. Finishing 36th instead of 37th isn’t exactly the result he came for, but given the driveshaft robbed him of an outright win, he’ll probably take it.
Continue reading...
