Driving for Verstappen Racing at the GT World Challenge Europe season finale in Portimão, Portugal, Max Verstappen steered a Mercedes-AMG GT3 from 24th on the grid to finish ninth following a drive-through penalty, AutoHebdo reported. The event in Portimão marked the Formula 1 world champion’s debut in the GT3 series, where he shared the cockpit with co-drivers Ben Barnicoat and Chris Lulham for the three-hour race.
Setup Mistake Hurts Verstappen Racing Qualifying Pace
The weekend began on the back foot for the Verstappen Racing trio due to a setup mistake during Friday’s qualifying sessions. Verstappen explained that the car’s ride height was set too low, causing the chassis to scrape and stripping the Mercedes-AMG of its competitive pace before the grid was even set.
“Globalement, nous avons passé un week-end correct. Malheureusement, nous avons commis une erreur avec la configuration de la voiture en qualifications, ce qui a fait que la voiture frottait un peu trop pour les performances,” Verstappen stated, according to AutoHebdo. “Du coup, nous ne nous sommes pas qualifiés là où nous aurions dû. Nous avons ajusté la configuration pour la course et nous étions beaucoup plus compétitifs.”
Once the three-hour race got underway at the Algarve International Circuit, the car’s true pace emerged. Barnicoat drove the start cleanly to move the car into the lead during his opening stint, and Lulham maintained a strong position during the second rotation of drivers. However, the race swung in a difficult direction when Lulham attempted an opportunistic overtake on the car ahead, resulting in a collision with Luca Stolz’s Mercedes, as reported by Le Soir. Race control issued a drive-through penalty to the Verstappen Racing entry, forcing Lulham to cruise through the pit lane without stopping and dropping the team deep down the running order.
The Charge from 24th and Verstappen’s Verdict
The penalty and subsequent safety car intervention delayed the driver change, leaving Verstappen to take over the steering wheel from 24th position with less than an hour remaining. Despite the limited green-flag running time due to the safety car, the four-time Formula 1 champion carved through the midfield traffic to salvage a ninth-place finish.
“Cela signifiait que je devoir partir de la P24 pour mon relais. Mais j’ai pris du plaisir et le rythme de notre voiture était vraiment bon,” Verstappen said, as published by AutoHebdo. “C’était très agité avec beaucoup de chaos autour de moi pour remonter en tête. Mais au final, terminer neuvième en récupérant de cette pénalité de drive-through, je trouve que c’était vraiment solide. Donc globalement, même si ce n’était pas le résultat escompté, nous avons beaucoup appris et c’était un week-end positif.”
Online Harassment Condemned After the Clash
While Verstappen emphasized the positive takeaways regarding the team’s race pace, the aftermath of the event brought swift condemnation of online abuse directed at his teammate. Following the race, Lulham faced intense criticism and hostile messages on social media over the contact with Stolz.
In response, Verstappen took to social media to defend his co-driver, branding the personal attacks unacceptable. Le Soir reported that the Formula 1 driver praised Lulham’s overall driving standard during the weekend and emphasized that mistakes are a normal part of motorsport competition.
“Je pense également devoir m’exprimer sur la haine et le harcèlement auxquels Chris a été confronté après la course,” Verstappen stated on social media, via Le Soir. “Chacun a le droit d’avoir sa propre opinion sur ce qui s’est passé sur le circuit, mais ces attaques personnelles ne sont pas acceptables. Chris a très bien piloté et des erreurs peuvent arriver. Ce genre d’abus n’a pas sa place, ni dans notre sport ni ailleurs.”
Looking Ahead to Future GT Appearances
Despite missing out on a potential podium fight due to the mid-race penalty, the performance in Portugal established a strong foundation for future GT outings.
AutoHebdo noted that the championship-winning driver’s foray into GT3 competition has left followers anticipating a potential return to the grid in 2027, as the team evaluates further endurance entries outside of Formula 1 commitments.
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