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Max Verstappen's GT World Challenge Europe debut concluded with a memorable charge and a solid ninth-place finish in Portimão. Sharing the car with teammates Chris Lulham and Ben Barnicoat, the Dutchman navigated a dramatic three-hour endurance contest packed with intense battles, a penalty, and a blistering late fightback.
Behind the wheel of the #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3—prepared by 2 Seas Motorsport in Verstappen Racing livery—the crew entered the Portuguese round among the front-runners. Barnicoat enjoyed a flawless opening stint, skillfully steering clear of the opening-corner chaos. The Briton capitalized on two safety car interventions to climb from 14th to eighth within the first hour.
Youngster Chris Lulham took the reins next, sustaining their competitive pace. Executing a superb move around the outside of Turn 7 on Thomas Drouet, Lulham moved up into sixth. However, the subsequent restart brought trouble: an aggressive lunge down the inside of Luca Stolz at Turn 8 resulted in contact. The clash spun the Winward Mercedes and earned the #3 car a drive-through penalty, plummeting them down to 24th.
That left Verstappen to salvage the race in the final hour. Over the closing 45 minutes, the reigning Formula 1 World Champion put on a masterclass. Slicing his way through the field with a string of clinical overtakes—including a thrilling duel with Ferrari's Tommaso Mosca—Verstappen gained 15 positions to take the chequered flag in a hard-earned ninth place.
"Overall, it was a good weekend for us. Unfortunately, we made a setup mistake in qualifying—the car was running too low, bottoming out and throwing up far too many sparks, which compromised our grid position. We adjusted the setup for the race and were much more competitive. Ben had a fantastic first stint, and Chris was driving really well too before an overly ambitious move resulted in a fully deserved penalty. I had to start my stint from 24th, but I genuinely had a lot of fun. There was plenty of chaos out on track, but our pace was great. In the end, recovering to ninth after the penalty is a very strong result. We learned a lot and take plenty of positives from the weekend," Verstappen reflected after the race.
Ben Barnicoat was equally thrilled with the team's resilience:
"It was a huge privilege to drive for Verstappen's team in my first race in a Mercedes for over a year. Not everything went our way, but Max delivered a phenomenal final stint, making up 15 positions to bring us home in ninth. It was truly impressive to watch."
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