The #80 Winward Racing car claimed victory in the Nürburgring 24 Hours, avoiding the reliability issues that plagued the Max Verstappen-led #3 sister Mercedes.
The four-time F1 drivers’ champion — and his team-mates, Dani Juncadella, Jules Gounon and Lucas Auer — led for most of the race, but a broken driveshaft with just under four hours to go ruined their chances for victory.
Juncadella was just two laps into his stint, having taken over from Verstappen, when the problems struck, leaving the second Winward Racing car to ease to the win, marking Mercedes’ first win in this race since 2016.
In the end, it took the chequered flag by well over a minute, having led by over six minutes in the closing hours.
The #84 Lamborghini and the #34 Aston Martin rounded out the podium at the Nordschleife, with the former surviving an 86-second time penalty at the flag to avoid those cars switching positions.
Former F1 driver Timo Glock was disqualified and stripped of his licence to race at The Green Hell midway through the race for ignoring a slow zone, although his #69 car was able to continue without him.
Check out the Top 20 finishers below!
