An unexpected incident has shaken the 2026 edition of the 24 Hours of Spa. The Mercedes-AMG #17 vehicle of the GetSpeed team, which had achieved the best provisional time during qualifying, has been excluded from the Superpole for a regulatory infringement related to unauthorized work on the brakes during the Q3 session.
According to the regulations, extensive work on the vehicle is prohibited while participants are competing. During qualifying, television cameras captured two mechanics intervening to remove the right rear brake, simultaneously cleaning a large amount of accumulated stones and sand. It appears that driver Maximilian Götz had an incident not shown by the broadcast, reaching the gravel.
As a consequence of this infringement, all times achieved by GetSpeed in the third qualifying session have been nullified. This setback means that the team is excluded from the Superpole competition, raising their starting position to around 60th, once penalties and the situation of vehicles that could not complete their lap in Q2 are accounted for.
Impact on the standings
This situation reconfigures the list of favorites for the race, leaving the AF Corse Ferrari #51 as the new leader in the betting, with Alessio Rovera, Tommaso Mosca, and Nicklas Nielsen behind the wheel. The competition intensifies as the Mercedes-AMG GT3 will have to navigate a long distance against a highly crowded grid.
Despite the unfavorable initial situation, one can never know what surprises a 24-hour race may bring, especially with weather conditions that can play in favor or against the teams. GetSpeed now needs to focus on recovering during the race, knowing that the most complicated part has already passed.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
