As FormulaUno.it reports, Max Verstappen is making his first-ever race weekend appearance in the GT World Challenge Europe, taking command of a Mercedes AMG GT3 machine for the 3 Hours of Portimão. This finale of the Endurance Cup marks the four-time F1 World Champion's return to GT3 machinery following a bitter end at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring. He steps in to capitalize on the absence of Daniel Juncadella and Jules Gounon, who are tied up at Barcelona for the 6 Hours of WEC.
Sharing the cockpit with the Dutchman are Ben Barnicoat and his protege Chris Lulham. They face a colossal grid featuring 61 GT3 entries and the absolute heavyweights of closed-wheel racing, creating a brutally tough challenge even for a driver of Max's stature. The team itself receives technical support from 2Seas Motorsports, though they have largely struggled to stamp their authority on the GT World Challenge Europe outside of a breakthrough victory in the opening Magny-Cours heat secured by Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella.
Out on track during free practice one, the Verstappen-Barnicoat-Lulham trio set the 20th fastest time. They landed just four tenths adrift of the leading Audi run by Eastalent Racing and driven by Cristopher Haase, Markus Winkelhock, and Simon Reicher, who clocked a 1:42.643. Drama struck early too, as Verstappen tangled with Ezequiel Perez Companc on his very first flying lap, sending the Audi spinning at turn three. Qualifying follows today across three sessions, with the starting grid determined by taking the average lap time of all three crew members.
Strategy will dictate the pace over the three-hour duration, allotting each driver just over an hour of flat-out stint time. Regulations mandate a minimum stint length of 64 minutes and a maximum of 69 minutes. Reflecting on his preparation and hinting at future endurance outings, Verstappen shared his thoughts on the weekend and a potential appearance at the 24 Hours of Spa.
"I have always loved Portugal and I have spent time here with friends and family," Verstappen said. "When I saw the calendar overlap between the GT World Challenge and the FIA World Endurance Championship, I said to myself, 'I wouldn't mind jumping in the car instead of someone else!' It's a fantastic circuit and an ideal environment for fans and families. It is a truly beautiful place."
"Finographically, it has gone quite well so far. Naturally, my reference points come from the Nordschleife at the Nürburgring, so it took me a little while to get used to driving the car on this track. The Mercedes-AMG GT3, however, is very balanced and in recent years has proved to be extremely competitive. Today we focused on fine-tuning some details. For this time of year, it is still quite hot and you have to take that into account. Obviously you would like to go faster and do better. Personally, I am gaining more and more confidence and, lap after lap, things are improving."
"For me, there is also the aspect related to endurance racing. Sharing the car with teammates is something that, so far, I have not done much in my career. Naturally, I had a first taste at the Nordschleife and I really enjoyed it. Having this first opportunity now in the GT World Challenge is exciting."
Looking further ahead, Verstappen added: "I love Spa, of course, so I'm trying to organize myself to arrive well prepared. I'll do my best to be there. The circuit is close to the border with the Netherlands and I am also half-Belgian. For me it would be nice to participate and race in one of the biggest endurance events of the year."
