Red Bull Motorsports
WEC
From P24 to P9: How Max Verstappen mounted his GT3 fightback at Portimão
Max Verstappen started his GT3 stint in P24 and finished ninth. Here’s how he fought through the field to secure a top-10 finish at Portimão.
Part of this story
Max Verstappen made an impressive comeback on his GT World Challenge Europe debut at Portimão, climbing from 24th to ninth during his 45-minute stint in the Mercedes-AMG GT3.
After making his debut at the renowned 24H Nürburgring and then passing 100 rivals to win the Max vs 100 karting race earlier in the year, Verstappen took the opportunity of a weekend off from his current red-hot form behind the wheel of his Oracle Red Bull Racing RB22 to join team-mates Chris Lulham and Ben Barnicoat in the season-closing three-hour race at the Portuguese circuit.
"I had fun," he said after the race. "The pace of our car was really good and it was very hectic with a lot of chaos around me trying to get to the front. To recover from P24 and finish ninth was really strong."
It was very hectic with a lot of chaos around me
01
How did the GT3 race at Portimão unfold?
A drive-through penalty meant Verstappen Racing were running in 24th place
© Gruppe C Photography/Red Bull Content Pool
Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing started the race from 13th on the grid after qualifying 15th and benefiting from penalties for other teams. The squad showed improved pace in the opening stages, putting itself in contention for a strong result.
Team Verstappen’s Barnicoat started the race, aiming to get as close to the front runners as possible. He made up two places in the opening corners of the first lap to get into P11. That is where he stayed for the next 20 minutes, before getting into the top 10 after 12 laps. Lulham then took over the driving seat and soon passed the #64 Mustang to get into sixth place.
However, following a post-safety car restart, with just over an hour of racing remaining, Lulham collided with Luca Stolz in another Mercedes, seeing his opponent spin around on track. Team Verstappen were given a drive-through penalty, where the racer has to drive through the pits at a reduced speed.
That left Verstappen with a significant challenge, with the team down in 24th when he took over for the final 45 minutes.
02
How did Verstappen fight back from P24 to P9?
Max Verstappen had some ground to make up
© Gruppe C Photography/Red Bull Content Pool
Right from the start of his stint, Verstappen was fast. He was setting lap times similar to the cars in the podium places, seeing him make his way through the pack.
Within 10 minutes, he’d overtaken four cars on-track, including two in consecutive moves at turn five.
Then, with Team Verstappen sitting in 19th place, a safety car was called after two cars went off the track, and the field began to bunch up. That brought the cars ahead of Verstappen closer to him, making the overtakes possible.
Verstappen made the most of a safety car period
© Gruppe C Photography/Red Bull Content Pool
By the end of the race, he'd made up 15 places, including 14 overtakes
© Gruppe C Photography/Red Bull Content Pool
Over the next few laps following the restart, the Dutchman continued to pass drivers ahead of him, reaching P15. Then, with five minutes to go, he pulled off a spectacular triple-overtake to get up to 11th place. The next car ahead of him was Arthur Leclerc, younger brother of Formula One’s Charles Leclerc, in a Ferrari.
With just three minutes to go, he passed him. By the end of his 45 minutes on-track, he’d made it up to ninth place, which is where the team finished.
Team Verstappen were just 18.5 seconds off first place. Of the 15 places Verstappen made up, 14 of them were with overtakes. While the drive-through penalty hurt their chances of winning, the Dutchman was able to showcase his overtaking ability following the safety car midway through his stint.
03
What did Verstappen say about his GT3 performance?
Max Verstappen was pleased with the team's race pace
© Gruppe C Photography/Red Bull Content Pool
Verstappen was pleased, although he acknowledged that the team had not achieved the result it had hoped for: “Overall, we had a decent weekend. Unfortunately, we made a mistake with the set-up of the car in qualifying, which meant we didn't qualify where we should have qualified. We adjusted the set-up for the race and we were a lot more competitive,”
He also praised the contributions of his team-mates during the opening two spells: “Ben had a really great first stint staying out of the carnage at the start and driving us to the front. Chris also started his stint really strongly, putting us in a good position. But then, unfortunately, the drive-through penalty meant I had to start my stint from P24.”
Following the race, Verstappen also took to social media to address the criticism directed at Lulham over the incident that led to the drive-through penalty, saying: "Everyone can have their opinions about what happened on track, but these personal attacks are not okay. Chris had a really strong stint and mistakes can happen."
04
What does the Portimão result mean for Verstappen?
Verstappen hopes to drive at Spa if his F1 commitments allow
© Gruppe C Photography/Red Bull Content Pool
Although ninth place was not the result Verstappen Racing had targeted, the performance offered encouragement for the team's future GT3 outings. Verstappen and his team will return to GT3 hoping for continued success. Since he has to work his GT3 involvement around Formula One commitments, events have to fall between F1 race weekends for him to take part.
After the Portimao race, the Dutchman spoke about his hopes to take part in the GT3 24-hour race at Spa in 2027. “It’s my favourite track, of course, so I’m trying to make it work,” he said. “I’m also Belgian, so it’s just nice to be there of do one of the biggest endurance events of the year. I’m going to try my best to be there.”
About the author
Part of this story
