For his sixth participation in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, Jules Gounon probably thought he'd seen it all. Then Max Verstappen arrived with his team, his fans, and, incidentally, a pace that transformed the Green Hell into an extension of his own backyard.
Verstappen arrives, and the Nürburgring takes on a new dimension.
Jules Gounon isn't exactly the type of guy to discover endurance racing with a VIP badge around his neck. Yet, when asked what has changed at the 2026 Nürburgring 24 Hours with Max Verstappen joining his team, the Frenchman doesn't try to sound blasé.
"This was my sixth time participating in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, and this year was extraordinary."
And for once, the adjective doesn't sound like a press release phrase.
The mere participation of the four-time world champion had already transformed the event into a global phenomenon. Verstappen was, however, experiencing the 24 Hours of Nürburgring for the first time, partnered with Jules Gounon, Dani Juncadella and Lucas Auer in the #3 Verstappen Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.
The result: 352,000 spectators were announced over the weekend, and for the first time in the event's history, tickets were sold out completely. Clearly, the Orange Army had found a new forest in which to plant its flags.
But the phenomenon wasn't solely commercial. Even before the race, Gounon had been particularly struck by how well his new teammate had adapted.
"He arrived, he was immediately in the rhythm, he understands the race."
Not necessarily the most reassuring phrase when you've been a professional GT driver for years and the new guy arrives between two F1 Grand Prix.
The tourist in the GT3 had clearly forgotten to be slow
Because the times then gave the compliment a rather embarrassing dimension.
Verstappen 's best lap in the race was recorded at 8:12.818, ahead of Maro Engel at 8:13.213 and Dani Juncadella at 8:13.718. Gounon , meanwhile, had set a time of 8:18.993. The conditions were obviously not identical for each driver, which precludes simplistic comparisons, but the analysis of simultaneous stints is just as revealing: Verstappen was faster than his direct rival in the sister Mercedes during each of his six compared stints.
Over his 48 laps, he finished ahead of car #80 on 35 comparable laps. Even after correcting some Code 60 penalties and pit lane discrepancies, Motorsport.com 's analysis still gives him a cumulative advantage of over a minute. In short, for someone supposedly there to "discover" endurance racing, he had clearly skipped the learning curve.
This also explains why Gounon stated before the race that he didn't really know what he could teach the Dutchman. He also highlighted something less visible in the stopwatch: Verstappen is interested in GT3, GT4, Porsche Cup cars, and more broadly, practically anything with four wheels and a number on the doors.
Two minutes ahead of schedule… then the system decides to remind everyone who's in charge.
From a sporting perspective, the scenario was almost too clean.
The No. 3 Mercedes found itself in the lead with a gap of around two minutes, thanks in particular to excellent management of the changing conditions and the choice of rain tires. Then, with 3 hours and 20 minutes remaining, the driveshaft decided that the race was far from cruel. A lengthy pit stop, victory gone.
The car eventually returned to the track, but the trophy went to the other Mercedes-AMG of Maro Engel, Luca Stolz, Fabian Schiller and Maxime Martin , which had started only 25th. Mercedes thus won the event for the first time since 2016.
This is probably what makes Gounon 's memory even more striking: Verstappen Racing didn't even need to win to become one of the great stories of this edition.
And a few months later, Verstappen Racing finally finished the job
Moreover, the GT3 adventure did not end with this breakdown.
Last weekend at Magny-Cours, Gounon and Juncadella gave Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing its first overall victory in the GT World Challenge Europe. Starting from pole position, Gounon built up a lead before handing the wheel to Juncadella, who held on until the checkered flag.
This victory comes after a rather impressive series of missed opportunities, breakdowns, and frustrations. In other words, Verstappen 's personal project is slowly starting to resemble something more than just a pleasant pastime for an F1 champion.
And that is perhaps the most interesting thing about Gounon 's comments . Verstappen did not simply participate in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring: he changed the atmosphere, attracted a record crowd and forced some GT specialists to look at their timesheets with a slight frown.
For a first attempt, we've seen more discreet ones.
Jules Gounon on Max Verstappen:
🗣️"Well, we have one guy to thank, and that's Max, because he gave us so many opportunities during the winter to test. Many days with good tires."
🗣️"And we have a great set of engineers, with the four of them, behind the scenes that are working… pic.twitter.com/GrD0Mn3Ba3
— MV33Racing🏎 (@MV33Racing) August 6, 2026