Verstappen reveals the static sim rig powering his GT3 comeback against Rossi at Portimao

Max Verstappen will make his GT World Challenge Europe debut on October 17, climbing into the No. 3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 at Portimao alongside co-drivers Chris Lulham and Ben Barnicoat — his first time in a GT3 car since he led his class at the Nürburgring 24 Hours in May.

The seat became available after regular drivers Dani Juncadella and Jules Gounon were committed to a World Endurance Championship round on the same weekend. Valentino Rossi will also be on the Portimao grid, racing a WRT-run BMW, making the finale one of the more eye-catching GT3 grids of the season.

With limited time to prepare, Verstappen has been leaning on the sim setup he has refined at his Monaco home. Speaking on Team Redline’s YouTube channel, he explained why he chose a static rig over the motion platforms favoured by many high-end sim racers: “I’m driving at home on a static rig because it’s faster. All these kinds of motion rigs are slower but of course, if you want to try and replicate a little bit of what you feel in real life, then yeah, you buy a motion rig. But I think it’s not really necessary at the moment.”

The logic is straightforward for a driver who experiences real G-forces at the limit of a Formula 1 car every race weekend — the static setup removes unnecessary physical distraction and lets him focus on pace.

The hardware itself is far from off-the-shelf. Verstappen trains on Simucube ActivePedals paired with a Precision Sim Engineering LM-X wheel, displayed across a triple 32-inch curved Samsung Odyssey G7 monitor array. The wheelbase is a Leo Bodnar SimSteering2 Ultimate, and his seat is a custom Recaro Podium. Comparable builds have been estimated at between $25,000 and $35,000.

Speaking to Car and Driver earlier in 2026, Verstappen highlighted where the real detail lies: “It’s pretty custom, and you can buy it all online, but you get into some personal settings as well. The most important to get right is the brake pedal. And the wheelbase. Those are probably the most important.”

For Verstappen, the Portimao outing is a rare chance to race outside Formula 1 in a competitive multi-class environment, and the presence of Rossi on the same grid adds an extra layer of intrigue to what is already the GT World Challenge Europe’s season finale.