In the days following a dramatic and ultimately disqualified victory in the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie [NLS], Max Verstappen has addressed the incident publicly for the first time, offering a measured and notably positive perspective on the weekend.
The NLS round had initially appeared to mark a standout GT3 performance for Verstappen, who secured pole position and led much of the race alongside teammates Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella.
However, the #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 was later disqualified for exceeding the permitted tyre allocation, following a procedural mistake during qualifying.
Speaking to media, including Motorsport Week, ahead of this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, Verstappen downplayed the impact of the procedural error that led to disqualification, instead emphasising the overall experience.
“Well, overall, it was a great weekend. We had a really good time together, with my teammates as well,” he said.
Verstappen confirmed the nature of that error, pointing specifically to a misstep during pit stop practice.
“We had a small mistake in qualifying when we were practising the pit stops, where they added another set to the car while we were doing the outings.”
Despite the consequences, he framed the incident as a learning opportunity rather than a setback.
“It’s a shame, of course, to lose it. But at the same time, it probably puts the team on point. Maybe it needed that a little bit.”
Max Verstappen: ‘Impossible to compare’ F1 to sportscar side hustle
His comments align with the broader assessment from Mercedes-AMG Motorsport following the event, where the disqualification was attributed to operational complexity rather than performance-related issues.
Importantly, Verstappen remained clear in his assessment of the on-track execution and team environment.
“The overall working experience was really good. Also within the team, the engineers know what they’re doing. They have been incredibly successful for a while in GT racing. So for me, overall, it was a really fun weekend.”
Beyond the result itself, the weekend reinforced Verstappen’s growing connection to endurance and GT racing. While comparisons to Formula 1 remain difficult, his enthusiasm was clear.
“It’s impossible to compare [to F1], but I wanted to do that for a while.”
“It’s really something that I enjoy a lot. So yeah, every time I jumped out of the car, I was smiling, and I think that’s always a good thing.”
Verstappen has made no secret of the fact that his side hustle in sportscars has been a source of enjoyment, ever since his mysterious and humorous outing at the Nordschleiffe last year as ‘Franz Hermann’.
Many will speculate that the four-time World Champion will eye up something in this field in the long-term, given his current discontent with the current positioning of F1, due to its new electrified ruleset.
There will be more opportunities for Verstappen to flex his considerable muscle in a sportscar in the future should he so wish, and given the apparent sense of seeing racing as a job, switching over to something might be something that can never be ruled out.
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