There are repeated claims on social media that Max Verstappen was penalised with a 35-kilogram weight penalty on the 2026 Nurburgring 24 Hours. This is how that hearsay obtained began.
Remarkably, a hearsay persists on social media that the Mercedes-AMG GT3 was 35 kilograms heavier than typical in the course of the 2026 Nurburgring 24 Hours. That is full nonsense, because the AMG raced, identical to the earlier yr, with a weight of 1,355kg.
The truth that these 35kg preserve popping up on social media was purpose sufficient for Motorsport.com Germany to analyze the origin of this determine. Anybody tracing the declare again in the end finally ends up on the US web site MotorBiscuit, which printed the headline “Max Verstappen’s Nurburgring 24H Bid Hit by Brutal BoP Penalty” in mid-Might.
From there, this headline shortly made its strategy to Reddit and different platforms. Different web sites additionally picked up the story with out questioning it, in order that the 35kg ultimately even ended up on MSN. However what is de facto behind the ominous 35kg?
The determine was taken from the official BoP paperwork however fully taken out of context.
Within the official BoP, the Mercedes-AMG GT3 is listed with a minimal weight of 1,355kg. The McLaren 720S GT3, then again, was allowed on the monitor with 1,320kg. For those who subtract one determine from the opposite, you get precisely the 35-kilogram distinction in query.
In the end, this was a case of evaluating apples to oranges, as a result of the 35-kilogram distinction in comparison with the McLaren already existed on the 2025 24-hour race.
In reality, nothing had really gotten worse for the AMG. The Mercedes-AMG GT3 even acquired a 0.5 millimetre enhance of its two air restrictors in comparison with the earlier yr to maintain the ageing automotive aggressive on the Nordschleife.
#3 Mercedes-AMG Staff Verstappen Racing, Mercedes AMG GT3 EVO: Max Verstappen, Daniel Juncadella, Jules Gounon
Photograph by: Pink Bull Content material Pool
The Stability of Efficiency serves to carry essentially totally different car ideas to the identical efficiency degree. On account of its mighty V8 entrance engine and general development, the Mercedes is by nature one of many heaviest vehicles within the GT3 class. The McLaren, with its mid-engine format and carbon-fibre chassis, represents a very totally different car idea.
So, on no account had been sandbags stuffed into Verstappen’s cockpit simply earlier than the race. Each single Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the whole discipline needed to compete with these 1,355 kilograms — it was its customary working weight for the “Inexperienced Hell” ever since its Evo improve again in 2020.
Ultimately, what we see is a traditional social media phenomenon: a uncooked quantity is copied from an official desk, garnished with a splash of drama for straightforward clicks, and all of a sudden a concrete conspiracy idea arises that’s missing any basis.
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