Max Verstappen’s supposed victory in the second round of the Nürburgring Endurance Series was subsequently disqualified. A breach of the tire management rules led to disqualification.
At the second round of the Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS), the initially victorious team led by Max Verstappen was disqualified after the race. The Mercedes-AMG GT3 with starting number 3 had initially won the Barbarossa Prize on the Nordschleife on the track, but subsequently lost its success due to a decision by the race stewards.
The reason for the disqualification is a clear violation of the series’ technical regulations. According to the official classification, the team exceeded the maximum permitted number of tire sets. While only six sets of slick tires are permitted in the race, a total of seven sets were used on the vehicle.
The rule is clearly formulated in the NLS and leaves no room for interpretation: exceeding the tire limit automatically leads to disqualification. The background to this rule is to ensure equality of opportunity and to limit strategic advantages through the use of additional material.
The team confirmed the mistake after the race and referred to an internal misunderstanding in tire management. A more lenient penalty such as a time penalty is not provided for in such cases, which is why the vehicle was completely removed from the classification.
Due to the disqualification, the second-placed team from ROWE-Racing, with their BMW M4 GT3, moved up and took the official race win. For Verstappen and his team-mates, this means no result in the standings despite a convincing performance.