Max Verstappen produced a spectacular recovery drive on his GT World Challenge Europe debut at Portimao, climbing from 24th to ninth during the final stint of the three-hour endurance race. The four-time Formula 1 world champion delivered a series of impressive overtakes after a costly penalty threatened to derail the race for his Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing.
The Dutchman shared the #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 with Ben Barnicoat and Chris Lulham. Starting from 13th on the grid, Barnicoat made steady progress through the field and climbed to eighth before handing the car over to Lulham, who continued the charge towards the front.
Lulham moved up to sixth and was challenging Luca Stolz in the #48 Mercedes when an attempted overtake at Turn 8 ended in contact, sending his rival into a spin. The stewards handed the Verstappen Racing entry a drive-through penalty, which Lulham served shortly before handing over to Verstappen.
The penalty dropped the #3 Mercedes to 24th, leaving Verstappen with a considerable recovery job when he took the wheel with approximately 45 minutes remaining. However, the Red Bull driver immediately demonstrated his pace, setting competitive lap times and beginning his charge through the field.
Photo: SRO/JEP
Verstappen unleashes spectacular comeback in final stint
Verstappen was already making progress when another Full Course Yellow period, subsequently converted into a Safety Car, interrupted the action. The Dutchman was running 19th behind the Safety Car before racing resumed, setting up a dramatic final sprint towards the chequered flag.
Once the race restarted, Verstappen began picking off his rivals with a succession of decisive overtakes, rapidly making his way through the field and continuing his charge towards the top ten.
With less than ten minutes remaining, Verstappen continued his charge, overtaking Thomas Fleming and Alessio Mosca as he battled his way into the top ten. One particularly impressive sequence saw him gain three positions in quick succession through traffic.
His final target was Arthur Leclerc, the younger brother of Ferrari F1 driver Charles Leclerc, who was competing in the #50 AF Corse Ferrari. Verstappen caught the Monegasque in the closing minutes and completed the overtake to secure ninth position.
The Dutchman eventually crossed the line ninth overall and fifth in the Pro Cup, having recovered 15 positions from the moment he took over the car. His impressive final stint also included a personal best lap of 1:44.506 on lap 92 of the 94-lap race.
Meanwhile, the #17 Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed of Ralf Aron, Maximilian Götz and Fabian Schiller claimed victory in the season finale, ahead of the #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche and the #2 Boutsen VDS Porsche. Below, you can watch all the overtakes Verstappen completed during his stint.