Max Verstappen speaks out after Nurburgring 24hr debut ends in disaster

Max Verstappen has spoken out after his Nurburgring 24-Hour debut ended in disaster, after his team had been in the hunt to finish victorious.

The four-time Formula One world champion had finished fourth in qualifying for the event and so was in the hunt to give the Dutch driver a successful debut in the famous race.

Verstappen and his team, Lucas Auer, Jules Gounon and Dani Juncadella, had been performing well throughout the early stages of the event, and with only four hours to go, they had a comfortable lead.

The team all put in some incredible stints throughout the first 20 hours of the race; however, the standout performer was Verstappen as he powered the team into the lead.

In a heartbreaking turn of events for the team, just two laps into Juncadella’s stint, they suffered disaster as a puncture was picked up as well as an ABS failure, resulting in a necessary trip to the pit lane.

Once back in the garage, further bad news would be relayed to the team: it was discovered that there had been a driveshaft fault, resulting in an incredible amount of time being lost, which effectively meant any chance of victory was gone.

Verstappen is driving the #3 Mercedes-AMG car at the Nurburgring Nordschleife (Image: Getty)

The car would be off circuit for four hours as they repaired it to get it back in the race; however, it would only make it out for the last lap of the race, with Juncadella having brought it home.

It was a heartbreaking end to the race that had promised so much with just four hours remaining, and now following this, Verstappen has spoken about his thoughts on the ending to the event.

He said: “Very unfortunate and frustrating ending, but these things can happen.

"I still really enjoyed the experience together with Jules, Luggi and Dani. Thanks to the team and everyone around the track for your support."

Verstappen will be back in F1 action next weekend when he will be driving for Red Bull at the Canadian Grand Prix, in which he will be looking to revive his campaign as he sits seventh in the world championship standings while his team are fourth in the constructors' table but well off the pace of McLaren in third.