Verstappen Racing finishes in P9 after spectacular race in Portimao

Published on 17 October 2026 by Kees-Jan Koster

Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing finished ninth in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup race in Portimão. The trio of Max Verstappen, Ben Barnicoat and Chris Lulham put in a strong performance, which was disrupted by a penalty. Starting from P13, Barnicoat worked his way up to P8 before handing over to Lulham. Following a superb overtaking manoeuvre, Lulham moved up to P6, but subsequently spun a rival during another overtaking attempt. The team received a drive-through penalty, dropping them back to P24 just as Max took over for the final stint. Max immediately found his rhythm and was at times the fastest driver on the track. After an outstanding stint featuring several daring overtaking moves, he eventually crossed the finish line in ninth place.

Under brilliant sunshine, the three-hour GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup race in Portimão gets under way. Ben Barnicoat takes the start. The 29-year-old Briton was once a formidable rival of Max Verstappen in their karting days, but this weekend marks his first appearance for Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing. During the rolling start, Barnicoat makes a good opening move from 13th on the grid, gaining one position. Alessio Picariello leads in the #2 Boutsen VDS Porsche, followed by Thomas Preining in another Porsche, with Maximilian Götz in third in the #17 Mercedes.

On lap two, Barnicoat makes a daring move to pass Benjamin Goethe for 11th place. Just under 20 minutes into the race, a full-course yellow is deployed after Dylan Medler is spun around in his Ferrari and becomes stranded in the gravel trap. Following this brief interruption, the field is released again, and Barnicoat immediately attacks Nicki Thiim, successfully moving into the top ten. After Lilou Wadoux, who was running in P6, spins, Barnicoat advances to P9. Jordan Pepper is deemed responsible for Wadoux's spin and receives a drive-through penalty, allowing Barnicoat to gain another position and move up to eighth.

With 1 hour and 53 minutes remaining, Ben Barnicoat heads into the pits and Chris Lulham takes over. The 23-year-old Briton, who made the transition into motorsport thanks to his performances with Verstappen Sim Racing, rejoins the track in 11th place, with several drivers ahead of him still needing to make their driver changes. After leaving the pits, Lulham immediately attacks Thomas Drouet in the #64 HRT Ford Racing car, executing a superb move to pass him around the outside at Turn 7. Once the first round of pit stops is complete, Lulham is up to sixth place. Meanwhile, the #17 Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed car, now driven by Ralf Aron, takes the lead from both Porsches by stopping later. Lulham closes in on the drivers ahead but is just too far back to launch an attack.

Halfway through the race, a prolonged full-course yellow is followed by a safety car after an incident involving the #54 Dinamic GT Porsche and the #9 Pure Rxcing Porsche. It is almost dark when the race restarts, with 1 hour and 12 minutes remaining. Lulham attacks Lucas Stolz for fifth place at Turn 8, but the two drivers make contact and Stolz spins. Lulham is able to continue, although he loses a position to Drouet in the #64 Ford, leaving him in sixth place.

Almost 20 minutes after the incident, Lulham is handed a drive-through penalty, and Team Verstappen Racing drops to P16 after serving it. Thanks to other cars making their pit stops, Lulham climbs back to second before heading into the pits to hand the car over to Max Verstappen for the final 45 minutes of the race. When Max rejoins the track, he is down in 24th place. He immediately matches the pace of the leaders and quickly begins fighting his way through the field. With 35 minutes remaining, he has already climbed to 19th when a safety car is deployed because two cars have stopped on the side of the track. The field is released again with 23 minutes remaining. On the lap following the restart, Max is still caught in traffic, but after that, the Dutchman cuts through the field like a hot knife through butter, repeatedly setting the fastest times on the track. With seven minutes to go, Max is up to P13 when he produces an exciting move to pass three drivers in one go at Turn 2. Verstappen continues his charge, also overtaking Arthur Leclerc, Charles's younger brother, to claim ninth place. On the final lap, he catches the drivers ahead, but there is no time left to make another overtaking move. Following an exceptionally strong final stint, Max therefore finishes the race in P9.

Fabian Schiller takes the chequered flag as the winner in the #17 Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed car, with the #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche finishing second. Dutchman Morris Schuring completes the podium in third place in the #2 Boutsen VDS Porsche.