BERLIN — Max Verstappen’s luckless pursuit of an endurance racing victory again ended in disappointment as his Mercedes broke down when leading the 24 Hours of Nuerburgring.
The 28-year-old Dutchman, who is having another difficult season with his Red Bull Formula One team and has threatened to leave the discipline, is competing in a growing number of endurance races in GT3 cars, a category derived from production cars.
He was eagerly awaited by tens of thousands of fans at the legendary German circuit, AFP reported.
The car he shared with Spaniard Daniel Juncadella, Frenchman Jules Gounon and Austrian Lucas Auer was ahead with three hours to go when it pulled into the pits due to noises and vibrations.
Following a lengthy check, mechanics replaced a section of the driveshaft. It returned to the track in 38th place handing victory to a rival Mercedes driven by Maro Engel, Maxime Martin, Fabian Schiller and Luca Stolz.
It was the first time in ten years that the German marque had won the 24 Hours of the Nuerburgring.
In March, Verstappen crossed the line first in a four-hour race at the track, but was disqualified because his car had used too many sets of tyres.
Vertappen said on Sunday morning on his website that he enjoyed the event.
“The competition, endurance style racing with teammates. A 24-hour race, especially here, is incredibly challenging. That whole combination,” but he added that he could not promise to be back next year
“I will for sure try, but it also depends on my calendar.”
The Dutchman is seventh in the F1 driver standings after four Grands Prix.
He has constantly criticised new technical regulations on electric and combustion engines and even threatened on several occasions to leave F1 to devote himself to his family and endurance racing, even though his contract with Red Bull in F1 does not expire until the end of 2028.
