Endurance
Lucas Auer reflects on “frustrating” end to Max Verstappen Mercedes’ Nurburgring bid
Lucas Auer described the late driveshaft failure for the #3 Mercedes in the Nurburgring 24 Hours as “frustrating”, but said such setbacks are simply part of endurance racing
Laurens Stade Heiko Stritzke
Edited: May 17, 2026, 4:11 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
#3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing, Mercedes AMG GT3 EVO: Max Verstappen, Daniel Juncadella, Jules Gounon, Lucas Auer
Photo by: ADAC Motorsport
“Until we had to stop, we were having a really good race,” Lucas Auer told, among others, Motorsport.com as he reflected on the Nurburgring 24 Hours.
The #3 Mercedes Team Verstappen Racing entry had looked to be on course for victory thanks to its comfortable lead over the #80 AMG, but a driveshaft failure ended its hopes with around three hours left.
“Of course it’s frustrating, but I’m also proud of our group,” Auer added. “It was an absolute pleasure to share the car with the guys and with the whole team.”
Read Also:
Auer has already spoken to Max Verstappen about the problems and said his reaction was the same: “frustrating”. “But in the end, we have all been in motorsport long enough to know how this business can be sometimes. Up to that point, though, it was really great,” stressed the Austrian, who had already seen the problems coming. “I was upstairs, next to a few engineers, so I knew what was going on.”
Where Daniiel Juncadella revealed that he did not suspect contact during the race had caused the problems, Auer said that it “has to be investigated”. “But no, up to that point it had actually been a very clean race.”
Asked whether the failure could have been the result of aggressive driving - not only in battles, but also over the kerbs - or whether it was simply bad luck, Auer replied: “No, that’s just what you do here. With the traffic management and the different classes, it’s a matter of survival for everyone — for the car and for the drivers. But from our side, it was actually quite a clean race.”
"Amazing experience"
#3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing, Mercedes AMG GT3 EVO: Max Verstappen, Daniel Juncadella, Jules Gounon, Lucas Auer
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Asked whether there is now unfinished business, Auer said “maybe, actually”. Should the team return in this line-up next year for another attempt? “Maybe we should think about that, but we haven’t spoken about it.”
Auer had nothing but praise for the team itself. “Amazing job. I can only say thank you - a really stellar job from them,” said Auer, who “enjoyed” driving the Mercedes with this team. “When you drive for a German manufacturer, this is the biggest event and there is always pressure. But in the end, with Max as well, it was an amazing experience.”
Photos from Nurburgring 24 Hours
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Nurburgring 24 Hours, in photos
Intercontinental GT Challenge
49
Read Also:
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Daniel Juncadella: “There’s nobody to blame” for Max Verstappen Mercedes failure
Next article Nurburgring 24 Hours: Mercedes win as late mechanical failure hits Verstappen Racing
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Laurens Stade
What the international media are saying about the F1 Canadian GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
Canadian GP
What the international media are saying about the F1 Canadian GP
How Max Verstappen "showed he is one of the best GT3 drivers" at Nurburgring 24 Hours
Intercontinental GT Challenge
Intercontinental GT Challenge
24h Nürburgring
How Max Verstappen "showed he is one of the best GT3 drivers" at Nurburgring 24 Hours
Daniel Juncadella: “There’s nobody to blame” for Max Verstappen Mercedes failure
Endurance
Endurance
Daniel Juncadella: “There’s nobody to blame” for Max Verstappen Mercedes failure
More from
Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen jokes about Daniel Ricciardo's Le Mans ambition: "He's a smart man picking me!"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
14 h
Max Verstappen jokes about Daniel Ricciardo's Le Mans ambition: "He's a smart man picking me!"
Why Daniel Ricciardo would consider a comeback at Le Mans
WEC
WEC 20 h
Why Daniel Ricciardo would consider a comeback at Le Mans
Latest news
Pedro Acosta fast but “feeling terrible” in Malaysian GP practice
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Malaysian GP
28 min
Pedro Acosta fast but “feeling terrible” in Malaysian GP practice
Fabio Quartararo 19th and angry: “I’ve not struggled so much at Sepang in a long time”
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Malaysian GP
1 h
Fabio Quartararo 19th and angry: “I’ve not struggled so much at Sepang in a long time”
"When I don't have pain, I gain," says Maverick Vinales after return to form in Malaysian MotoGP practice
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Malaysian GP
1 h
"When I don't have pain, I gain," says Maverick Vinales after return to form in Malaysian MotoGP practice
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe