The sister car to Max Verstappen's Mercedes AMG-GT3 has taken victory at the 2026 Nurburgring 24 Hours, in a race of high drama and attrition. 

Verstappen's #3 Winward Racing-run Mercedes-AMG GT3 suffered late-race heartbreak after a wheel bearing issue caused a driveshaft breakage while leading the race. 

The Dutchman's entry had led for the majority of the night and into the morning, but with Daniel Juncadella at the wheel, was forced into the garage just three laps after Verstappen had completed his final double stint. 

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Juncadella returned to the track in the closing moments after three hours of repairs, but the car was well down the order, in 38th overall.

This allowed the #80 Mercedes to assume the lead, with Maro Engel having battled wheel-to-wheel with Verstappen during the night, putting two wheels on the grass as the pair locked horns.

As drivers around made errors or suffered with reliability issues, the drives of Engel, Luca Stolz, Fabian Schiller, and Maxime Martin were understated, with mixed conditions and all the other chaos of an endurance race failing to phase the quartet.

Victory was Mercedes' first on the Nordschleife since 2016, with the mechanics lining the pitwall to wave home the #80. 

The race was one of redemption for the #84 Red Bull Team Abt pole-sitting Lamborghini Huracan GT3, with Mirko Bortolotti driving the final stint after suffering a puncture on lap one on Saturday.