Verstappen's Nurburgring 24 Hours hopes end with broken driveshaft

Max Verstappen's hopes of winning the Nurburgring 24 Hours on his debut ended when a broken driveshaft forced his car off the track.

The Dutch driver, along with teammates Lucas Auer, Jules Gounon and Dani Juncadella, led the race by about 30 seconds with three hours and 20 minutes remaining. Their Mercedes AMG GT3 was eventually repaired, but the problem cost them any chance of victory.

"It was good," four-time Formula 1 champion Verstappen told his website after his stint on Sunday morning. "Back in the daylight, trying to stay safe while still maintaining good pace and staying out of trouble. It felt good, the car was working well."

He added: "The competition, endurance style racing with teammates, a 24 hour race, especially here, is super challenging."

Asked if he will return next year, Verstappen said: "I will for sure try. It always depends a bit on my calendar."

Verstappen, who is contracted with Red Bull until 2028, raced in this year's event because it fell between the Miami and Canadian Grands Prix. The race features showroom-style cars on the 15.8-mile circuit in Germany's Eifel mountains. The 28-year-old had said the event had "been on my bucket list for a long time."

There were 161 entries across 23 classes, the largest grid in more than 10 years. Verstappen's participation created strong interest, with weekend tickets selling out for the first time in the event's history. Organizers reported a record 352,000 attendees.

The Mercedes of Maro Engel, Luca Stolz, Fabian Schiller and Maxime Martin took the overall victory.

"We had a good start, great stints, the decision for rain tyres at the right moment. We had a two-minute lead over everyone else," said Juncadella. "Just a dream race, but unfortunately it was three hours too short and three hours too long for us. But that's just the way it is in racing."

Verstappen will now return to Formula 1 for the Canadian Grand Prix next weekend.