Verstappen in action in Portugal: schedule and where to watch

Verstappen will get behind the wheel of his own Mercedes-AMG GT3 to fill in for Verstappen Racing. Due to a clash with the World Endurance Championship finale, which will be held in Barcelona that same weekend, Jules Gounon and Dani Juncadella are unable to race. GPblog learned at the Nürburgring at the end of August that Verstappen himself would take part. He eventually confirmed this after being asked by this website in Malaysia.

Shortly afterwards, it was also announced who would drive alongside him and regular driver Chris Lulham: Ben Barnicoat. The IMSA champion, who also has experience with 2 Seas Motorsport and Mercedes' GT3 car chassis, will complete the line-up in Portimão. The race weekend begins on Thursday, 15 October, with a test day that will not be broadcast—but GPblog will still bring you the latest news from the paddock. From Friday, 16 October, everything can be followed live.

The GT World Challenge endurance weekends follow a format consisting of two free practice sessions, one qualifying session made up of Q1, Q2 and Q3, just like in Formula 1, and finally the race itself. More than half of the programme takes place on Friday, with free practice in the morning, the second free practice session in the afternoon and qualifying in the evening. All three drivers in a line-up must take part in qualifying.

The race will take place on Saturday, 17 October, at 17:00 BST and will last three hours in total. You can find the full schedule below.

All times are listed in Dutch time.

In the GT World Challenge Endurance, the maximum stint time per driver is approximately sixty minutes. This depends on the circumstances, as the maximum stint time per driver can be extended in the event of a Full Course Yellow or a safety car. By comparison, during the three-hour race at the Nürburgring, the maximum stint time in 2026 was 64 minutes, extending to 69 minutes during neutralisations. For Verstappen, this means he will drive for approximately one hour during the race in Portugal.

UK fans can follow the GT World Challenge Europe in Portimão live via the official GT World YouTube channel. Qualifying will be broadcast on Friday, 16 October, from 15.55 to 19.05.

The three-hour race can be watched on Saturday, 17 October, from 17.00 to 20.00 via GT World's official livestream on YouTube. The livestream is also available on the GT World Challenge Europe website.

The race weekend in Portimão marks the conclusion of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup season. The championship's Sprint Cup, in which Juncadella and Lulham competed, was already concluded in Barcelona during the weekend of 2–4 October. The final race of the season gives Verstappen the opportunity to get back behind the wheel for his own racing team. Unlike in Formula 1, the Endurance Cup is not solely about outright speed, but also about cooperation between the three drivers, pit stops and strategy throughout the race.