Max Verstappen to race Mercedes-AMG GT3 at Portimao endurance finale

Endurance cup entry at Portimao

Max Verstappen will join the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup grid for the final round of the 2026 season at Portimao in Portugal. The event, scheduled for 16 and 17 October 2026, marks the four-time Formula 1 world champion's debut in the championship. Verstappen will drive a Mercedes-AMG GT3 entered under his own Verstappen Racing banner and prepared by 2 Seas Motorsport. He will share the cockpit with teammates Chris Lulham and Ben Barnicoat across the three-hour endurance race.

The Portimao event will be Verstappen's first competitive GT3 outing since he participated in the 24 Hours of Nurburgring endurance race in May 2026. All of his previous endurance appearances took place on the Nurburgring Nordschleife with his own team. The 29-year-old Dutch driver has also expressed an interest in competing in additional endurance events in the future, including the 24 Hours of Spa.

Driver substitution and grid rivals

Verstappen is stepping in to drive because regular Verstappen Racing drivers Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella are unavailable due to a date conflict with the World Endurance Championship. Gounon and Juncadella are committed to compete in the 6 Hours of Barcelona on the same weekend, driving for Alpine and Genesis respectively.

The race will place Verstappen on the same starting grid as Valentino Rossi, who competes in the Pro category for the BMW WRT team. The meeting represents the first time that Verstappen and the seven-time motorcycle premier class world champion will compete against each other in car racing.

Verstappen also clarified his lineup after public comments from Fernando Alonso prompted discussions regarding a potential collaboration. The Aston Martin driver, who recently extended his contract through 2027, had suggested upcoming driver surprises, but Verstappen dismissed any prospect of sharing a car in Portugal.

No, he will not drive with me. I do not know what he means by that, but no, from my side everything is clear, we know what we want to do.

Schedule and Formula 1 calendar gap

The main three-hour endurance race at Portimao will take place on Saturday, 17 October 2026, with the race start scheduled for 19:00 local time. The round serves as the tenth and final event of the GT World Challenge Europe calendar.

The Portuguese race falls into a brief gap between two Formula 1 triple-headers, positioned between the Singapore Grand Prix and the United States Grand Prix. The closing phase of the Formula 1 season requires drivers to complete nine races across eleven weeks. Verstappen confirmed during media sessions that he welcomes the demanding schedule.

It will be a busy seven weeks, but we will get through it, and I enjoy it anyway. So let us see what we can achieve there.

The Portimao circuit is scheduled to return to the Formula 1 World Championship calendar in the 2027 season.