Verstappen Racing qualifies P14 in Portimeo: 'Got it a little bit wrong today'

Published on 16 October 2026 by Florence Cobben

Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing has qualified 14th for the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Race in Portimão, Portugal. The team made up out of Max Verstappen, Ben Barnicoat and Chris Fulham, drove an average time of 1:42.624, putting them half a second behind the leading time set by the #2 Boutsen VDS Porsche.

After the qualifying session, Ben Barnicoat shared: “It was a tough session. We felt like we have been missing a little bit of speed. None of us have been super happy, so we tried a couple of things and obviously it just didn't quite work out. We had a lot of bouncing in the straights, so I think we just missed it a little bit.”

Still, the team will do everything it can to fight its way to the front in the three-hour race, which starts Saturday at 6:00 p.m. Central European Summer Time (CEST). Ben continued: “It’s a three-hour race, we are all going to do our best. It is never over until it’s over in these endurance races. We have got a great lineup, a great team. I still believe we can do it tomorrow. Max has been strong and Chris has been strong, so I am sure we will be okay come tomorrow. We just got it a little bit wrong today, but we know what we did, and we know how to make it better. We are going to go to business tomorrow and try to get to the front.”

Max Verstappen is stepping out on Formula 1 for the weekend to drive together with Ben and Chris in the GTWC Europe in Portimão. Together with the rest of the #3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing, the three drivers prep for the upcoming qualifying. Although the session, just like in Formula 1, consists of Q1, Q2 and Q3, the format works a little differently here. In GTWC, each driver drives in one of the three sessions, and the starting order is determined by the average of each driver’s fastest lap times.

During Q1, it’s Ben who stepped into the #3 Mercedes-AMG. The Brit has a hard time of it in the first lap, and crosses the line having set a 1:43.124 lap. He’s about seven-tenths short of the fastest lap, placing the team provisionally in 21st place. The fastest time was set by Morris Schuring in the #2 Porsche of Boutsen VDS.

In the second session, Chris took the car for a spin. Chris, like his competitors, manages to find more race pace. He sets a speedy time (1:42.655) promoting the Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing to fifteenth place. The average time of the team is about seven-tenths slower than the fastest time, at the moment firmly in the hands of the  #2 Boutsen VDS.

Max is finally up to the bat during Q3. The four-time Formula 1 world champion earns his reputation in his first flying lap, putting in a 1:42.2 time and outpacing his teammates. In his last flying lap, he manages to improve a little on his initial lap (1:42.093) and Team Verstappen hangs onto fifteenth place, with an average time of 1:42.624. But with all of another participant's qualifying times being deleted, Verstappen Racing moves up to the fourteenth starting position.The three-hour long race in Portimão will start Saturday at 18.00 Central European Summer Time (CEST).

Click here for the complete overview of the results of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup in Portimão.

1:18 and 1:43 scale models of the Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing car and Max’s GT3 helmet (1:2 and 1:4) are available here: https://store.verstappen.com/nl/c-17522