Former F1 driver gets disqualified and loses license in the same race Max Verstappen is driving in
Max Verstappen’s race at the Nurburgring 24 Hours didn’t go as planned. His car ran into a mechanical problem, but he wasn’t the only one to face trouble at this famous race. Another former F1 driver was disqualified and even lost his racing license.
The four-time world champion had been leading the race Sunday morning in Germany by over half a minute in his Mercedes AMG GT3. Verstappen and his teammates, Lucas Auer, Jules Gounon, and Dani Juncadella, were surely disappointed with how things turned out.
When Juncadella took over driving from Verstappen, he had to slow down because of a problem with the car’s rear-right side. They lost the lead and had to pull into the pits. After an hour, the car still hadn’t come out of the garage, ending any chance for Verstappen to win in his first Nurburgring 24 Hours.
Although this was a letdown for Verstappen, he was lucky compared to former F1 star Timo Glock. Glock was driving the Benetton-styled #69 McLaren 720S-GT3 early in the morning when he was caught going 112 km/h in a 60 km/h slow zone.
These slow zones are there to protect drivers because they warn about accidents or track blockages — sometimes with recovery vehicles like trucks on the track. Drivers must slow down when they see boards, flags, and lights marking these zones to keep everyone safe.
Glock was going much too fast through this area, according to the race officials. As a result, he got two penalty points. Since he had already received two points earlier in the event, Glock won’t be allowed to race in 2026.
On top of this, his car was given an 82-second penalty. This was added to a previous 33-second penalty for not following the minimum pit stop time.
The stewards’ official statement said: “Driver T. Glock is immediately disqualified from this event and his DPN license is withdrawn.” They explained they reviewed all the evidence and after hearing from Glock’s team, they decided on this penalty because he had received two penalty points during this event and two before during the qualifiers.
It was a tough weekend for both Verstappen and Glock at the Nurburgring 24 Hours!