Red Bull Racing F1 driver Max Verstappen will participate in this year's GT World Challenge.
There's no rest for the weary. Not if you're the four-time World Champion Max Verstappen.
During media day on Thursday at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, Verstappen confirmed that he will be racing at the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup finale at Portimão on October 18, 2026.
Interestingly, the GT race smacks right up the middle of the two scheduled Formula 1 triple-headers. So far, the Red Bull driver's current schedule of races looks like this:
- September 26: F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
- October 4: F1 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia
- October 11: F1 Singapore Grand Prix
- October 18: GT World Challenge
- October 25: F1 United States Grand Prix
- November 1: F1 Mexico Grand Prix
- November 8: F1 San Paulo Grand Prix
That's seven straight weekends of non-stop racing for Verstappen, who is still looking for his first win in the current Formula 1 season.
Why Verstappen is racing at Portimão
Verstappen owns a GT outfit called Verstappen Racing, a motorsport team that fields GT3 entries. The team currently drives a Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO in the GT World Challenge Europe.
However, two of the team's drivers have a scheduling conflict on October 18. Dani Juncadella and Jules Gounon are competing in the World Endurance Championship on the same weekend.
That's why Verstappen is stepping into the empty seats. He says that it will be a "busy seven weeks", but that he's already excited to compete at Portimão.
This isn't Verstappen's first rodeo outside of F1
Verstappen, who extended his contract with Red Bull to team up with Isack Hadjar at least through the 2027 season, has been racing outside of Formula 1 for a while now.
In 2025, the Dutchman made his GT3 race debut at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, where he drove a Ferrari 296 GT3. Verstappen dominated in the early stints, and then Chris Lulham brought it home, allowing the duo to emerge victorious in the event.
Verstappen would also participate extensively in GT3 testing sessions. He even had himself some fun recently, winning the Max vs 100 side event at Silverstone.
All eyes on his potential first win of 2026
Verstappen hasn't won an F1 race this season, although he has finished on the podium in six of the last eight races. He was so close to snatching the win at Baku last weekend, too.
With F1 returning to the Sepang International Circuit, all eyes will be on Verstappen potentially winning his first race in 2026. The Red Bull driver was the last winner here, when he crossed the finish line first during the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix.
Verstappen said that he's happy with Red Bull's recent upgrades, but of course, a newly upgraded Mercedes car stands in his way.
