Max Verstappen tempers expectations in Portugal: 'We had more pace at the Nordschleife''
Photo: SRO/JEP
Henry Eccles is a freelance Formula 1 journalist for GPblog, covering breaking news, live race blogs, and features across the F1 calendar. Since joining in 2026, he has produced high-volume reporting on the sport’s biggest stories, alongside feature pieces including analysis and historical content.
Max Verstappen has tempered expectations surrounding a recovery drive at the GT World Challenge Europe finale in Portimao. The Dutchman's Verstappen Racing team began P13 in the three-hour endurance race, with driver Ben Barnicoat gaining two places at the start.
Filling in for regular Verstappen Racing drivers Dani Juncadella and Jules Gounon, who are unavailable due to a clash with the World Endurance Championship (WEC) round in Barcelona, Verstappen will take part in the final stint of the race, with time to speak to GTWC moments prior to the start.
On his team's poor qualifying on Saturday, Verstappen said: "Our car was sparking a little bit too much. Yeah, I mean, it doesn't matter if it sparks a little bit, but I was just basically on the floor.
"So, yeah, we got it wrong for qualifying, but of course, we can make a few adjustments now, and I hope that the car will come alive a bit more in the race."
The four-time F1 world champion added: "It's a really good team. It was just unfortunate for us yesterday that we couldn't really show that. It's not easy to step in, even for myself, but, of course, also for Ben.
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"But yeah, we are just very excited, you know, we want to have a good time. Of course, we want to try and move forward. But let's see, I think it's gonna be an interesting race."
Verstappen unsure his team can recreate Nurburgring pace
However, when asked whether he could replicate the impressive pace we've seen from him during his Nurburgring escapades earlier in the year, Verstappen poured cold water on his team's hopes.
"I think we had a little bit more pace at the Nordschliefe. It's a very long track, right? So the speed differences can be quite a bit bigger between brands. Here, I think what you could see already in practice, a lot of brands are very close to each other.
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"So that you won't see, like we had at the Nordschliefe, but hopefully you can just have a good race, move forward, race the other cars. That's what we're here for."
At the time of writing, however, Verstappen's team have made steady progress, with Barnicoat gaining four places up to P9 overall. You can follow updates from the Portimao action here.
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