After a successful weekend in Singapore, Max Verstappen is now spending a rare week outside of Formula 1 behind the wheel of a Mercedes-AMG GT3. Apparently, the F1 schedule isn’t punishing enough for the Dutchman, who will be racing Portimao, Portugal, in the season-concluding 2026 GT World Challenge round. This is how and where you can watch it.
The Red Bull driver will be coming off not just a win at the Marina Bay Circuit, but also a win in Malaysia for the relocated Bahrain Grand Prix. Maybe this momentum could follow him to the Algarve.
“It is going to be a busy seven weeks, but I will enjoy it,” he said when the entry was first announced.
The three-hour race will begin on Saturday, 17 October, at 5pm local time. It will come to an end at 8pm.
A 61-car endurance race
Ben Barnicoat and Chris Lulham will join Verstappen in the #3 Team Verstappen Racing entry. Daniel Juncadella and Jules Gounon, who would usually be driving the car, will be driving in the FIA World Endurance Championship that same weekend, meaning the team’s talented reserve driver will have to step in.
This will be his first return to GT competition since the Nurburgring 24 Hours earlier this year. That race ended badly, with his car falling out of the race due to a technical failure, but he’s hoping he can take back what’s his this coming weekend. This race will be shorter, offering him maybe a better chance at success.
Portimao, however, is a more compact circuit, so the 61 cars on its asphalt may create a few traffic issues and no shortage of action.
24h Spa 2026: Verstappen-AMG raus, erneuter Ferrari-Reifenschaden
Photo by: SRO/JEP
When and where to watch
Day
Session
Start time (UK)
Friday, 16 October
Free Practice 1
08:45
Friday, 16 October
Free Practice 2
12:45
Friday, 16 October
Qualifying
17:55
Saturday, 17 October
GT World Challenge Endurance Cup Race
17:00
Saturday, 17 October
Race Finish
20:00
Qualifying takes place on Friday from 5.55pm to 7.05pm local time. Race day follows on Saturday, with the green flag at 5pm and the chequered flag waving at 8pm.
The GT World Challenge is streamed on the GT World YouTube channel and can be watched for free in multiple languages. Live coverage will begin on Friday with FP1 at 08:45.
2026 GT World Challenge Portimao Entry List
Car #
Team
Nationality
Car
Driver 1
Nationality
Driver 2
Nationality
Driver 3
Nationality
Category
2
Boutsen VDS
BEL
Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) EVO
Morris Schuring
NED
Dorian Boccolacci
FRA
Alessio Picariello
BEL
Pro
3
Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing
NED
Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO
Max Verstappen
NED
Ben Barnicoat
GBR
Chris Lulham
GBR
Pro
4
Optimum Motorsport
GBR
McLaren 720S GT3 EVO
Adam Smalley
GBR
Freddie Tomlinson
GBR
Harry George
GBR
Gold
5
Optimum Motorsport
GBR
McLaren 720S GT3 EVO
Dante Rappange
NED
Guilherme Oliveira
POR
Mikey Porter
GBR
Silver
6
GetSpeed Team Bartone Bros
USA
Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO
Anthony Bartone
USA
Cesar Gazeau
FRA
Aurelien Panis
FRA
Silver
7
Comtoyou Racing
BEL
Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO
Mattia Drudi
SMR
Nicki Thiim
DEN
Ross Gunn
GBR
Pro
8
Car Collection Motorsport
GER
Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) EVO
Reinhold Krahn
CAN
Pietro Armanni
ITA
Joel Sturm
GER
Bronze
9
Pure Racing
LTU
Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) EVO
Max Hofer
AUT
Mikkel Pedersen
DEN
Aliaksandr Malykhin
GBR
Silver
10
Boutsen VDS
BEL
Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) EVO
Alessandro Ghiretti
FRA
Robin Knutsson
SWE
Gilles Magnus
BEL
Gold
11
Comtoyou Racing
BEL
Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO
Marcelo Tomasoni
BRA
Aaron Muss
USA
TBA
Bronze
12
GetSpeed Team Dubai
UAE
Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO
Gabriel Rindone
UAE
Mikael Grenier
CAN
Tom Kalender
GER
Bronze
17
Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed
GER
Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO
Ralf Aron
EST
Maximilian Götz
GER
Fabian Schiller
GER
Pro
19
Team Motopark
AUT
Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO
Christian Mansell
GBR
Aaron Walker
GBR
Rui Andrade
SUI
Silver
20
Team Motopark
AUT
Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO
Nikita Mazepin
RUS
Dominik Baumann
AUT
Philip Ellis
GBR
Pro
21
Comtoyou Racing
BEL
Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO
Oliver Söderström
SWE
Sébastien Baud
FRA
Kobe Pauwels
BEL
Silver
23
Team RJN
GBR
McLaren 720S GT3 EVO
Maxwell Lynn
GBR
Horatio Fitz-Simon
GBR
Ben Dörr
GER
Silver
24
Steller Motorsport
GBR
Corvette Z06 GT3 R
Mikkel Mac
DEN
Dennis Lind
DEN
TBA
Gold
25
Sainteloc Racing
FRA
Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II
Ezequiel Perez Companc
ARG
Etienne Cheli
FRA
TBA
Silver
30
Team WRT
BEL
BMW M4 GT3 EVO
Ignacio Montenegro
ARG
Matisse Lismont
BEL
Amaury Cordeel
BEL
Silver
32
Team WRT
BEL
BMW M4 GT3 EVO
Kelvin van der Linde
RSA
Jordan Pepper
RSA
Charles Weerts
BEL
Pro
34
natural elements by Walkenhorst Motorsport
GER
Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO
Jamie Day
UAE
Christian Krognes
NOR
Henrique Chaves
POR
Pro
35
Walkenhorst Motorsport
GER
Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO
Ethan Ischer
SUI
Gaspard Simon
FRA
Mateo Villagomez
ECD
Silver
41
Razoon – more than racing
AUT
Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) EVO
Marcos Gomes
BRA
Alan Hellmeister
BRA
Sebastião Malucelli
BRA
Bronze
42
Oman Racing by Century Motorsport
OMA
BMW M4 GT3 EVO
Calan Williams
AUS
Javier Sagrera
ESP
Ahmad Al Harthy
OMA
Bronze
44
Greystone GT
GBR
McLaren 720S GT3 EVO
Jayden Kelly
ESP
Josh Rattican
GBR
Tommy Pintos
ESP
Silver
45
Rinaldi Racing
GER
Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO
Dylan Medler
USA
David Perel
RSA
Axcil Jefferies
ZIM
Silver
46
Team WRT
BEL
BMW M4 GT3 EVO
Neil Verhagen
USA
Max Hesse
GER
Valentino Rossi
ITA
Pro
48
Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER
USA
Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO
Lucas Auer
AUT
Luca Stolz
GER
Maro Engel
GER
Pro
50
AF Corse
ITA
Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO
Lilou Wadoux
FRA
Arthur Leclerc
MON
Albert Costa
ESP
Pro
51
AF Corse
ITA
Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO
Tommaso Mosca
ITA
Lorenzo Ferrari
UAE
Nicola Lacorte
ITA
Pro
52
AF Corse
ITA
Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO
Matias Zagazeta
PER
Jef Machiels
BEL
Gilles Stadsbader
BEL
Silver
54
Dinamic GT
ITA
Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) EVO
Tanart Sathienthirakul
THA
Francesco Simonazzi
ITA
Angus Whiteside
GBR
Silver
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