Phoenix 24
The Formula 1 champion climbs through the field in Portugal.
PORTIMÃO, PORTUGAL
Four-time Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen finished ninth in the three-hour endurance race at Portimão, delivering an impressive recovery after his team was pushed down the order by a penalty. The Dutch driver shared a Mercedes-AMG GT3 with Ben Barnicoat and Chris Lulham in the final round of the 2026 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup.
The result came after a difficult opening phase that left Verstappen facing a considerable challenge when he took over the car. Starting his driving stint from 24th position, he worked his way through traffic and helped bring the team into the top ten by the checkered flag.
The recovery demonstrated a different dimension of his racing abilities. Unlike Formula 1, where the same driver remains behind the wheel throughout a Grand Prix, endurance racing requires several competitors to share one car while managing changing track conditions, traffic and coordinated pit-stop strategies.
Verstappen’s performance attracted particular attention because of his success in Formula 1, where he has established himself as one of the leading drivers of his generation. His participation in GT competition also reflects a broader interest in motorsport disciplines beyond single-seater racing.
The Portimão event featured another prominent name from world motorsport: Valentino Rossi, the nine-time motorcycle racing world champion who has pursued a career in sports car racing since leaving MotoGP.
Rossi encountered difficulties during the event and ultimately retired, eliminating the possibility of both champions finishing the race.
Victory went to Ralf Aron, Maximilian Götz and Fabian Schiller, representing Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed. Their performance secured the final race win of the endurance season against a competitive field of specialist GT drivers and manufacturers.
Ricardo Feller, Thomas Preining and Bastian Buus finished second for Lionspeed GP, while Morris Schuring, Dorian Boccolacci and Alessio Picariello completed the podium for Boutsen VDS.
Although Verstappen did not challenge for victory, his ninth-place finish illustrated how individual driving performance can influence an endurance result without determining it independently. Penalties, team execution and events involving other competitors all contribute to the final classification.
His participation also highlights an important distinction between racing categories. Formula 1 emphasizes extracting maximum performance from highly specialized single-seater machinery, while GT endurance competition requires adaptation to heavier production-based racing cars and the demands of shared driving duties.
The transition is not necessarily straightforward, even for drivers with extensive experience at the highest level of international motorsport.
For Verstappen, Portimão offered another opportunity to test those skills in a competitive environment. His recovery through the field provided a notable conclusion to the event, despite the team finishing outside the podium positions.
The result reinforces a familiar reality of endurance racing: success depends not only on the speed of an individual driver but also on the combined execution of an entire team.
Beyond the Finish Line, Performance Matters.