Max Verstappen shoved Maro Engel onto the grass during a late-night wheel-to-wheel battle for the lead at the Nürburgring 24 Hours, a forceful move that included multiple contacts and a near-miss that almost sent Engel off track. Verstappen, in the #3 car, closed on Engel’s #80 and forced a move down the Döttinger Straight that pushed Engel onto the grass approaching Tiergarten amid lapped traffic. The clash produced no major crash, and Engel described it as a misunderstanding caused by traffic, saying there was no damage and that he and Verstappen even laughed about the incident afterward.

Engel and his co-drivers Luca Stolz, Fabian Schiller and Maxime Martin secured the win for Mercedes, marking the manufacturer’s first Nürburgring 24 Hours victory since 2016 and finishing about 46 seconds clear of the next car. Verstappen’s bid for victory ended when a driveshaft failure dropped his #3 entry to 38th place.

The episode followed a year-old online dispute over a GT3 Nordschleife lap time attributed to Verstappen under the alias “Franz Hermann,” a matter Engel later said included incorrect information about a 7:48 DTM-spec run. Mercedes and team principal Toto Wolff cited Verstappen’s risky on-track moment when they and other Formula 1 teams blocked junior driver Kimi Antonelli from attending the Nürburgring next year, a move described as a precautionary, governance-style decision. Engel has been reported to be in close contact with Antonelli about a possible future entry and has attempted to recruit him, even as both drivers downplayed any personal rivalry after the clash. Verstappen said he would “try” to return to the Nürburgring 24 Hours in 2027 depending on his schedule.

Chinese electric-vehicle giant BYD explored entering Formula 1 and held direct talks with Christian Horner across two days in Cannes, with Horner attending as BYD’s guest. Horner was ousted as Red Bull team principal in July 2025 and ended his gardening leave earlier this month, making him eligible to return to the sport. BYD vice-president Stella Li also met Horner as part of exploratory discussions. Neither BYD nor Horner confirmed any formal partnership or appointment.

Reports described two possible routes for BYD, either creating an entirely new constructor or acquiring a stake in an existing team. BYD was linked to a bidding process for the 24 percent stake in Alpine marketed by minority owner Otro Capital, and some media named Horner among reported bidders. Other reports said BYD was leaning toward building a new team and would prefer majority control rather than a minority stake. Negotiations over Alpine’s ownership involved the Renault Group and attracted wider industry interest, with media noting Mercedes and other parties as potential players. Horner had previously been linked to a separate set of talks around an Alpine stake that involved Mercedes, and those talks appeared distinct from the BYD-related discussions.

BYD showed interest in Renault’s former Viry-Chatillon factory as a possible base for an F1 operation, and Stella Li said she was in close contact with F1 Management and F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali. FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem expressed optimism about a BYD bid and publicly signaled support for a Chinese manufacturer joining the sport. The push came amid broader manufacturer interest driven by the 2026 technical overhaul, with Audi, Ford and Cadillac already linked to F1. BYD, through its FinDreams division, was described in reports as a major EV and battery manufacturer and the world’s leading electric car maker with an estimated $125 billion net worth. No formal agreement, confirmed entry route or appointment had been announced.