When a four-time Formula 1 world champion steps into a GT3 car for a 24-hour endurance race, every detail gets scrutinized. Max Verstappen's entry in the Nürburgring 24 Hours aboard a Mercedes-AMG GT3 has sparked debate, and it's not just about his driving talent.
The #3 Winward Mercedes, which Verstappen shares with Lucas Auer, Jules Gounon, and Daniel Juncadella, received special attention before the race. Reliable sources confirm the car was meticulously checked, measured, and prepared at HWA in Affalterbach—a notable departure from the second factory-supported Winward Mercedes, the #80 car.
Why does this raise eyebrows? Since December 2025, HWA has no longer been responsible for Mercedes-AMG's GT3 racing activities, ending a long-standing partnership. Operations now fall under AMG subsidiary Affalterbach Racing GmbH. Having HWA handle Verstappen's car exclusively seems like a throwback to the old guard.
But the controversy doesn't stop there. The Red Bull-liveried machine runs a different suspension setup than its stablemate. While the #80 car uses the Bilstein suspension typically associated with Mercedes-AMG's Performance Team entries at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife, Verstappen's car features dampers and springs from Multimatic—the components with which the car was originally homologated.
According to sources, this was Verstappen's own preference. The Multimatic setup is the same one used by 2 Seas' entries under the Verstappen Racing banner in the GT World Challenge Europe. Since the #80 continues with Bilstein, the two Winward Mercedes will tackle the 24-hour race with fundamentally different suspension configurations.
Is this an unfair advantage? That question is already circulating in the paddock. However, there's a commercial partnership between Verstappen Racing and the Canadian manufacturer for both the GTWCE and this Nürburgring appearance. Team sources insist there's no performance difference between the two setups—but in the world of endurance racing, every detail matters, and the debate is far from settled.