Mercedes-AMG unveils its driver lineups with five French drivers

The GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS will launch its new season on April 11 with a six-hour race at Circuit Paul Ricard. Ten race weekends are scheduled, divided between five Sprint Cup rounds and five series events.Endurance Cup

As in previous years, Mercedes BenzAMG Motorsport will once again field a large and competitive contingent in 2026, with entries in Pro, Silver, and Bronze categories across three of the four classes. A total of ten Mercedes-AMG GT3s will compete in the Endurance Cup and six in the Sprint Cup.

Alongside the already well-established teams such as GetSpeed, Winward Racing and 2 Seas Motorsport, Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing, Grupo Prom Racing Team and 75 Express will also be taking part this season in GT World Challenge Europe with a Mercedes-AMG GT3.

The flagship driver lineup will be Team Verstappen Racing, featuring Frenchman Jules Gounon, Spaniard Daniel Juncadella, and Briton Chris Lulham for the Endurance Cup, with the latter two teaming up for the Sprint Cup. This trio could be joined by Max Verstappen for the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, scheduled for May 14-17.

ALSO READ > "He amazed me": Jules Gounon recounts Max Verstappen's GT3 tests

Besides Gounon, three other French drivers will be present in the Mercedes lineup for this GT World Challenge Europe season: César Gazeau and Aurélien Panis will team up with American Anthony Bartone at GetSpeed ​​Team BartoneBros, Hadrien David will drive for 75 Express alongside Dominik Baumann and Kenny Habul, while Stéphane Tribaudini will be teammates with Ralf Aron and Alfredo Hernández at Grupo Prom Racing Team. Panis will, however, be the only Frenchman competing in both Endurance and Sprint series.

The other Mercedes-AMG crews for this season of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup will be: Mikaël Grenier, Will Martin and Gabriel Rindone for GetSpeed, Maximilian Götz, Maxime Martin and Fabian Schiller within Team GetSpeed, Lucas Auer, Maro Engel and Luca Stolz with the Team MANN-FILTER, Philip Ellis, Jason Hart and Scott Noble representing GetSpeed ​​Team Noble Racing, Marvin Dienst, Gabriele Piana and Rinat Salikhov with Winward Racing, and finally Reece Barr, Charles Dawson and Kiern Jewiss for 2 Seas Motorsport.

Apart from Juncadella – Lulham and Bartone – Panis, the other Mercedes-AMG driver pairings for the Sprint Cup will be Rindone and Schiller at GetSpeed, Auer and Engel as well as Dienst and Salikhov at Winward Racing and Dawson and Jewiss for 2 Seas Motorsport.