Verstappen to race GT3 at Portimao against Valentino Rossi between F1 triple-headers

Max Verstappen will squeeze a GT3 race into one of the most congested stretches of his season, contesting the GT World Challenge Europe finale at Portimao, Portugal on 16-18 October — slotting between two Formula 1 triple-headers and forming part of a seven-consecutive-race run from the Azerbaijan GP to the Brazilian GP on 8 November.

The four-time F1 world champion will drive a Mercedes-AMG GT3 entered by 2 Seas Motorsport under the Verstappen Racing banner, marking his first appearance in the SRO GT World Challenge series. The outing also sets up a rare cross-discipline clash with MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi, who will compete in the same Pro category for BMW’s factory-supported WRT team.

Verstappen confirmed the appearance ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix, explaining that a late change to the World Endurance Championship calendar forced the move. His regular Verstappen Racing drivers Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella are unavailable for the GTWCE finale, with Gounon racing for Alpine and Juncadella for Genesis at the Barcelona 6 Hours on the same weekend.

“I know that two of my drivers won’t be part of the line-up. Two other drivers need to step in. I’m looking forward to it,” Verstappen said, before confirming he would race himself. “Of course, I would have loved to see my normal drivers compete, but the calendar has changed at times. And that’s OK. I love Portimao. I love being in Portugal. So we’ll try and have a good weekend.”

It remains unclear who will complete the three-driver line-up alongside Verstappen and Chris Lulham for the Endurance Cup event. Verstappen did, however, rule out the possibility of teaming up with Fernando Alonso.

The Portimao outing will be Verstappen’s first GT3 race since the Nurburgring 24 Hours in May, where a late mechanical failure denied his team a likely victory. He has already indicated plans to return to the Nordschleife in 2026 for another attempt at the race, and is targeting the Spa-Francorchamps 24 Hours for his 2027 schedule — though he has firmly closed the door on racing Ford’s new Hypercar at Le Mans.

“It’s going to be a busy seven weeks, but we’ll do it and I enjoy it anyway. So, let’s see what we can do there,” Verstappen added.