Max Verstappen rivals: Full entry list for GT World Challenge Portimao
The Mercedes-AMG GT3 shared with Ben Barnicoat and Chris Lulham will start 15th after a challenging qualifying session and a car issue, officials said.
- On Saturday, four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen completed his GT World Challenge Europe debut at Portimao, competing in the Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing entry against a competitive field of rivals.
- Verstappen entered the endurance finale because regular drivers Dani Juncadella and Joules Gounon are competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship in Barcelona, marking his first GT3 outing since May's Nürburgring 24 Hours.
- Starting 15th, the squad struggled with handling issues in qualifying, with teammate Ben Barnicoat attributing the pace loss to "lots of sparking" and bouncing, stating they were missing "a little bit of speed."
- A mid-race drive-through penalty for contact between teammate Chris Lulham and Luca Stolz's Mercedes derailed the team's victory hopes, but Verstappen recovered to ninth place in the final hour.
- Formula 1 2026 resumes next week at COTA for the United States Grand Prix, while Verstappen is expected to contest more non-F1 endurance events, including a return to other major GT races.
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The Danish trio on the Selected Car Racing team got one on the road on Saturday evening.
Max Verstappen cannot fight for the win in Portugal because his teammate Chris Lulham received a penalty for hitting another car.
Verstappen starting 15th for GT return; Boutsen VDS Porsche takes Portimao pole
Boutsen VDS secured its first-ever Endurance Cup pole in Friday evening’s qualifying session for the SRO World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup finale at Portimão, which features Formula 1 star Max Verstappen returning to GT racing.
Max Verstappen starts the GT World Challenge race in Portimão in fifteenth place with his team Verstappen Racing. The race starts on Saturday at 6:00 PM Dutch time.
In the GT outing, Formula 1 superstar Max Verstappen meets MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi in Portugal. The local motorsport elite is also involved: from master Lucas Auer to "driver" Philipp Eng.
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