Verstappen Racing Caught In First-Lap Chaos At Monza GT World Challenge Round

The GT World Challenge Europe round at Monza descended into chaos on the opening lap after a massive multi-car collision at Turn 1 involving the No.3 Mercedes-AMG Verstappen Racing car.
The Verstappen Racing team arrived at Monza for the third round of the 2026 GT World Challenge Europe following their participation in the Nurburgring 24 Hours.
Dani Juncadella, Chris Lulham and Jules Gounon were behind the wheel of the Verstappen Racing entry throughout the Monza event.
The team started from seventh on the grid after receiving a penalty during free practice ahead of the race.
Juncadella made a strong start off the line before being squeezed and caught in the middle of the incident at Turn 1.
Commentators noted that Juncadella picked up front-end damage in the collision, though he was fortunately able to continue in the race.
All drivers involved in the incident were confirmed to be okay following the crash.
The HRT Ford Racing No.64 car had started from pole position, while Danish driver Nicki Thiim was also caught up in the incident and was ruled out of the race.
Speaking to presenter Nina-Jade after watching a replay of the crash, Thiim said: “What can I say, it’s typical Monza carnage… I just got squeezed…it was just arms crossed and hoping that I didn’t hit anyone.”
Thiim continued: “What a shame. Very bad for the championship but what can we do. Destroyed car, no points, worst outcome…wrong time, wrong place.”
Images from the crash showed a cloud of dust with several cars stranded on the run-off area at Turn 1 following the impact.
At the time of writing, the No.32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO car of Jordan Pepper had taken the lead, while the Verstappen Racing entry languished down in P45.
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