Max Verstappen takes his Mercedes-AMG GT3 to Portimão against Rossi
A one-week gap between F1 triple-headers puts Verstappen on a 60-car GT3 grid
Max Verstappen makes his GT World Challenge Europe debut at Portimão, driving the #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO entered by his own Verstappen Racing team. The Endurance Cup finale runs from 16 to 18 October, with the three-hour main race on Saturday 17 October. It is his first GT3 race since May, and it lands in the only free weekend between two Formula 1 triple-headers.
Verstappen shares the #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO with Lulham and Barnicoat
The #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO, run by 2 Seas Motorsport under the Verstappen Racing banner, will carry Verstappen, full-season driver Chris Lulham and Ben Barnicoat in Portugal. Barnicoat is a Lexus factory driver, and his only previous outing with the team came at last year's Nürburgring round of the same series, which went well enough to earn the call back. Verstappen ruled out sharing the car with Fernando Alonso, a rumour that had done the rounds before the line-up was confirmed.
WEC's Barcelona 6 Hours takes Gounon and Juncadella out of the car
The seat is open because the World Endurance Championship moved its Barcelona 6 Hours onto the same weekend. Regulars Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella race there for Alpine and Genesis, so Verstappen stepped in himself. "Of course, I would have loved to see my normal drivers compete," he said. The clash has a cost beyond the team: Juncadella was 54.5 points behind in the GT World Challenge Europe drivers' standings, and missing the finale ends his title chance.
Valentino Rossi's WRT BMW M4 runs in the same Pro class
Valentino Rossi races a BMW M4 GT3 EVO for the factory-supported WRT team in the Pro class, the category Verstappen enters, so a nine-time motorcycle world champion and a four-time Formula 1 champion share a track in the same class for the first time in this series. Verstappen is also the second active F1 driver to race in the championship this year, after Lance Stroll raced the season opener at Paul Ricard in April.
Verstappen Racing's 2026 season: a Magny-Cours win and an Endurance podium
Verstappen Racing joined the GT World Challenge grid in 2025 and moved up to the Pro class this year. It scored its first overall win in the Sprint Cup at Magny-Cours and its first Endurance Cup podium at the Nürburgring, but damage retirements at Monza and the 24 Hours of Spa ended its Endurance title hopes. Verstappen's own GT3 year has been a near miss too: his car led the Nürburgring 24 Hours in May until a driveshaft failed with four hours to go.
Portimão race-day tickets cost €15 with 60 GT3 cars expected
SRO expects around 60 GT3 cars for the finale, which also settles the GT2 European Series, GT4 European Series and McLaren Trophy Europe titles, more than eight hours of racing in total. A Saturday ticket including the main race costs €15, a full weekend pass €25, and children aged 16 and under get in free. Paddock, pit lane and fan zone access are included in general admission; only the grid walks are extra.
AutoNext Take
This is the best kind of star cameo, because it is a substitution and not a stunt. Verstappen is not buying a seat for publicity; he is covering for two of his own drivers on a weekend the WEC took from them, in a car his team has already put on a podium this season. That he does it in the middle of seven race weekends in a row says how seriously he treats GT racing.
The #3 car should finish on the overall podium on 17 October. It led the Nürburgring 24 Hours on pace, it has a proven Endurance crew in Lulham and Barnicoat around it, and Verstappen already plans the Spa 24 Hours in 2027. A €15 ticket to watch that on a Portuguese Saturday is the bargain of the motorsport year.
