Max Verstappen confirms GT World Challenge return at Portimão
Max Verstappen will return to GT racing later this month, confirming that he will drive for his own Verstappen Racing team in the GT World Challenge Europe season finale at Portimão.
The four-time Formula One world champion will compete in the three-hour Endurance Cup race at the Algarve International Circuit on October 17, filling one of the vacancies created by a clash with the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Regular Verstappen Racing drivers Dani Juncadella and Jules Gounon will be unavailable because they are due to compete in the WEC round at Barcelona on the same weekend. Juncadella races for Genesis in the Hypercar class, while Gounon drives for Alpine.
«I know that two of my drivers are not part of the line-up, so two other drivers need to take over,» Verstappen told reporters ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix.
«I’m looking forward to that. It will be a busy seven weeks, but we’re just going for it and I’m definitely excited. Let’s see what we can achieve there.»
Verstappen’s team-mate has not yet been officially announced. The Race reported that Chris Lulham could be an option. Lulham has already contested three GT World Challenge Europe weekends this year and previously shared a Ferrari GT3 with Verstappen in the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie.
Fernando Alonso also hinted this week that he could have further non-F1 racing plans of his own. Max Verstappen laughed off suggestions that the two champions might team up at Portimão.
«No, no, he’s not driving for me,» Verstappen said. «From my perspective everything is clear. We know exactly what we want to do.»
A busy season
His Portimão appearance will also extend an unusually intense run of racing weekends. After F1 rounds in Azerbaijan, Malaysia and Singapore, Verstappen will head directly into another competitive weekend in Portugal. The Race reported that he is set to race on seven consecutive weekends before finally having a weekend free in mid-November.
«I would have liked my regular drivers to take part, of course, but the calendar has changed here and there,» Max Verstappen said.
«That’s fine. I love Portimão and I like being in Portugal, so we’ll try to make it a good weekend.»
When is Verstappen racing at Portimão?
The Portimão meeting runs from October 16 to 18 and closes the 2026 GT World Challenge Europe season. The championship returns to the Portuguese circuit for the first time since 2015.
The main GT World Challenge schedule is:
Friday, October 16
- Free Practice 1: 8:45 a.m. local time
- Qualifying: 5:55 p.m. local time
Saturday, October 17
- Three-hour GT World Challenge Europe race: 5 p.m. local time
The race begins at 4 p.m. GMT. Portugal and the UK will both still be observing daylight-saving time that weekend, meaning the start is also 5 p.m. in the UK.
The championship initially planned to hold the race on Sunday, October 18. Organisers moved it to Saturday evening after the WEC Barcelona event was rescheduled to the same weekend.
The change was designed to make it possible for drivers, teams and personnel involved in both championships to compete in Portugal before travelling to Spain.
Around 60 cars from 10 manufacturers are expected for the finale, including Audi, Aston Martin, BMW, Corvette, Ford, Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche. Valentino Rossi is also expected to be among the drivers competing.
Where to watch Verstappen’s GT race
The Portimão race will be available free worldwide on the official GT World YouTube channel, with no regional restrictions.
Fans can also follow the race through the GT World Challenge Europe website, which provides the official livestream and live timing during events.
He had already joked earlier this year that Verstappen Racing had a «good reserve driver» available if its regular line-up needed reinforcement.
At Portimão, that reserve driver will be the team owner himself.
