Max Verstappen stripped of Nordschleife victory after disqualification

Max Verstappen and his team-mates have been stripped of their Nordschleife NLS2 victory after being disqualified from the event. 

It was discovered that Verstappen's team had used seven sets of tyres across the four-hour race, despite the legal maximum being six.

Verstappen, Dani Juncadella and Jules Gounon had won the 2026 NLS2 in a Mercedes GT3 by a sublime 59 seconds after dominating the second half of the race. 

The four-time world champion was in the car for the opening hour and then again for the final stint, although it was his opening laps in the Mercedes which caused the most stress. 

Verstappen lost the lead at the start and only regained it following an overtake moments before pitting for a driver swap, with an intense battle having taken place across the first hour. 

However, the remainder of the race was relatively comfortable for the Dutchman and his partners, with it having appeared that Verstappen's 100% GT3 winning record was intact. 

That was until the post-race disqualification, which has added to what has already been a difficult year for Verstappen.