Max Verstappen: What the F1 star had to say about the penalty in the GT3 race at Portimão

The four-time Formula 1 world champion proved once again this weekend that Max Verstappen simply cannot stay away from racing. Whilst his rivals used the race-free weekend to recharge their batteries, the Red Bull Racing star made his debut in the GT World Challenge Europe.

He shared the Mercedes-AMG GT3, fielded by Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing, with Ben Barnicoat and Chris Lulham. The trio struggled with the set-up in qualifying and had to start the 3-hour race at Portimão from 14th on the grid. After an eventful race, in which Lulham received a drive-through penalty for a botched overtaking manoeuvre, Verstappen crossed the finish line in ninth place.

The GP star, who drove the final 45 minutes of the race and managed to climb from 24th to 9th place, said afterwards, according to ‘Verstappen.com’: ‘Overall, we had a decent weekend. Unfortunately, we made a mistake with the car’s set-up in qualifying. That’s why we didn’t qualify where we actually should have been. We adjusted the set-up for the race and were then much more competitive.”

Max Verstappen praises his team-mates

And the driver with 73 Grand Prix wins to his name praised his team-mates: “Ben had a really great first stint, during which he stayed out of the chaos at the start and moved us up the field. Chris also got off to a very strong start to his stint and put himself in a good position.” On the subject of the penalty, the Grand Prix star said: “But then, unfortunately, a slightly over-optimistic manoeuvre against the car in front of us led to us receiving a deserved drive-through penalty.”

“That meant I had to start my stint from 24th on the grid. But I enjoyed myself, and the pace of our car was really good. It was very hectic and chaotic all around me until I managed to work my way up the field. But to finish ninth in the end, after making up for that drive-through penalty, was, in my opinion, a really strong performance. So overall, it was an instructive and positive weekend, even if it wasn’t the result we’d hoped for,” added Verstappen.

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