Verstappen charges from 24th to ninth at Portimao GT finale after drive-through penalty wrecks podium bid

Max Verstappen's first GT World Challenge Europe weekend ended with a ninth-place finish at Portimao on Saturday, 17 October, after a drive-through penalty earlier in the three-hour race dropped his Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing entry down to 24th. The four-time Formula 1 champion took over the No.3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 for the final stint and worked his way back into the top 10. Victory went to the No.17 Team GetSpeed Mercedes of Fabian Schiller, Maximilian Götz and Ralf Aron.

How the race unfolded for the No.3 car

Verstappen shared the car with British drivers Ben Barnicoat and Chris Lulham. Barnicoat started the race from 13th on the grid, and the No.3 made solid progress through the opening phases, climbing as high as sixth before the decisive moment.

That came while Lulham was fighting for position with Luca Stolz in the No.48 Mercedes. Lulham went for a gap on the inside, made contact and spun Stolz's car, which fell far down the order. Race control handed the No.3 a drive-through penalty, which Lulham served before the final driver change.

By the time Verstappen climbed aboard, the car was 24th. He then put together a string of overtakes over his stint, the last of them on Arthur Leclerc's No.50 Ferrari to claim ninth place. The No.3 crossed the line 18.556 seconds behind the winners, and only about three-tenths of a second behind the eighth-placed No.6 Mercedes.

GetSpeed take first win of the season

At the front, the No.17 GetSpeed Mercedes completed 94 laps to win by just over five seconds from the No.80 Lionspeed GP Porsche of Bastian Buus, Ricardo Feller and Thomas Preining. The No.2 Boutsen VDS Porsche, which had started from pole position, completed the podium.

It was GetSpeed's first win of the campaign and came in the final round of the season. The No.71 Ferrari finished fourth, with the No.30 WRT BMW in fifth.

A weekend of ups and downs

Portimao was Verstappen's first appearance in the series, and it was not a smooth one. He was reprimanded by the stewards for a collision earlier in the weekend, and the team qualified in the midfield after a set-up problem. The Saturday race again showed the No.3 had the pace to run near the front, but the penalty ended any hope of a podium.

The outing drew huge interest for a GT race, with a field of more than 60 cars that also included MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi. Verstappen Racing is his own GT team, and he slotted the event into the two-week gap between the Singapore and United States Grands Prix.

Back to Formula 1 in Austin

Verstappen now switches straight back to his day job. The United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin runs from 23 to 25 October, with the race falling in the early hours of Monday, 26 October, Malaysia time.

He arrives in Texas as a recent winner: Verstappen won the Singapore Grand Prix from pole position on 11 October, his first victory at Marina Bay.

Key takeaways

• Verstappen finished ninth in the Portimao GT World Challenge Europe finale on 17 October, sharing the No.3 Mercedes with Ben Barnicoat and Chris Lulham.
• A drive-through penalty for Lulham's clash with Luca Stolz's No.48 Mercedes dropped the car to 24th before Verstappen's final stint.
• The No.17 GetSpeed Mercedes of Schiller, Götz and Aron won by just over five seconds from the No.80 Lionspeed GP Porsche.
• Verstappen returns to F1 at the United States Grand Prix in Austin on 23-25 October.

FAQ

Where did Max Verstappen finish at Portimao? Ninth overall, 18.556 seconds behind the winning No.17 GetSpeed Mercedes, after a three-hour race.

Why did the Verstappen Racing car get a penalty? Team-mate Chris Lulham made contact with and spun Luca Stolz's No.48 Mercedes while trying to pass, and the No.3 was given a drive-through penalty.

When is Verstappen's next Formula 1 race? The United States Grand Prix in Austin, held from 23 to 25 October, with the race in the early hours of 26 October, Malaysia time.

Sources: RacingNews365, PlanetF1, GPblog, GPFans, Dive Bomb