Kada Sárközi joined GPblog as an editor ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 season. He graduated with a BA in Sports Journalism in the UK and has covered Grands Prix and other F1 events live.
The GT World Challenge Europe season concludes today with the final race at the Portimao circuit and also with Max Verstappen on the grid. Watch the entire race live here!
After completing a Formula 1 tripleheader, Verstappen is back in action this weekend. The Dutchman is racing for his own GT3 team alongside Chris Lulham and Ben Barnicoat in the GT World Challenge Europe series in Portugal.
Verstappen busy Friday at Portimao
Verstappen's day began with being investigated by the stewards after the first free practice session. The Dutchman was found to be at fault for causing a collision and was handed a reprimand and one so-called 'behaviour warning point'. This will not affect the four-time F1 world champion or his team in today's endurance race. Then, the #3 Verstappen Racing Mercedes-AMG car finished in fourth place in FP2 thanks to Lulham's lap time in the session.
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The day concluded with qualifying. Verstappen drove the #3 car in Q3, the final session. In this series, one driver cannot secure pole position for his team alone: the average of the three drivers' best lap times determines the car's starting position for the race. In the end, Verstappen and his team finished in 15th place.
Meanwhile, Valentino Rossi and the #46 car will start further down the grid after the Italian's lap time was deleted for a track limits violation. The MotoGP legend was disappointed not to be able to start closer to Verstappen. He told Sky Italia: "Honestly, I was expecting it because I had always left myself a little bit of margin in all the risky corners, but at Turn 4, I went over the limit by just a tiny bit. I was close to another car, so I went a little wide, and that meant I exceeded track limits.
"It’s a shame because we could have fought with Verstappen, as we were right there, and it would have been great. But instead, this is how it’s turned out."
Today, the race starts at 17:00 GMT (18:00 CEST), and it will be three hours long.
Follow the #3 Verstappen Racing car's onboard here!
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You can watch not only the full broadcast but also Verstappen's onboard footage. See more below!
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