Max Verstappen's excellent Portimao recovery from P24 to P9 leaves Lando Norris stunned
Photo: Red Bull Content Pool
Kieran is a freelance Formula 1 journalist for GPblog, covering breaking news, live race blogs and feature content across the F1 calendar. An NQJ-qualified journalist with more than a decade of experience, he has previously written for publications including MailOnline, the Manchester Evening News and the Eastern Daily Press.
Lando Norris was stunned by Max Verstappen's excellent comeback during the GT World Challenge Europe finale in Portimao.
The McLaren driver, who beat Verstappen to the 2025 F1 drivers' championship by two points, was viewing the race results during a Twitch livestream and noted how Verstappen had climbed from 24th to ninth.
Verstappen Racing were handed a drive-through penalty after Chris Lulham was involved in a collision. Lulham, after serving the penalty, handed the car to Verstappen, who produced some exceptional overtakes on his way to a top 10 finish.
“Oh, wait! It’s already over?” Norris said as he checked the result. Seeing Verstappen’s recovery, he added: “Max went from P24 to P9?"
Norris was then told about Lulham’s drive-through penalty, which had left the team with a much bigger fight on its hands.
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“Oh, wait, Lulham got a drive-through penalty! And Max still went from P24 to P9 afterwards? What a shame, that’s really unfortunate,” Norris said. The McLaren driver then described Verstappen's performance as "something else" and was left impressed by his recovery drive. He said: “But he still went from P24 to P9 afterwards! That’s something else."
Verstappen defends teammate after penalty
Max Verstappen slammed the personal abuse aimed at Chris Lulham after a costly penalty derailed Verstappen Racing’s bid for victory in the GT World Challenge Europe finale at Portimão.
Lulham made contact with Luca Stolz while battling for fifth after a Safety Car restart, resulting in a drive-through penalty. Lulham served the penalty before handing the car over to Verstappen, who began his final 45-minute stint in 24th.
Verstappen defended his team-mate, pointing to the strong stint Lulham had produced before the incident.
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“I also feel I need to speak up about the hate and harassment Chris has received after the race. Everyone can have their opinions about what happened on track, but these personal attacks are not okay. Chris had a really strong stint and mistakes can happen.”
He added: “There’s no place for this kind of abuse in our sport or anywhere else.”
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