Verstappen Calls Out Fans for Abuse and Harassment of GT Teammate on Social Media

Max Verstappen reflects on his GT World Challenge Europe outing in Portimao, as he speaks up for teammate Chris Lulham. In the middle of the two F1 triple-headers, Red Bull driver Verstappen opted to compete in the 2026 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance finale in Portimao, for his Verstappen Racing team in the #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 machinery. He made his GT World debut in the lead Pro Cup category alongside NLS teammate Lulham, joined by Ben Barnicoat. They qualified 14th in combined qualifying on Friday and started the 3-hour race from 13th on the grid. Barnicoat started for Verstappen Racing and handed the car to Lulham in eighth. The former sim racer made headway to sixth until a move on the sister #48 Mercedes car of Luca Stolz, spinning him around, in a rather optimistic move. Lulham lost a place to the #64 Ford in the process and was handed a drive-through penalty, which he served before handing the car to Verstappen for the 45-minute stint. The Dutchman got in the car in 24th and worked his way up inside the Top 15 quickly. He then made some ballistic moves, including a three-car pass at Turn 2, to move inside the Top 10. He had to be content with ninth eventually, finishing fifth in the Pro Cup. It was a solid recovery drive from the four-time F1 champion in the night. Verstappen Reflects on His GT World Debut He agreed that the move from Lulham was a bit too optimistic. “Overall, we have had a decent weekend,” said Verstappen after the race. “Unfortunately, we made a mistake with the setup of the car in qualifying, which meant that the car was sparking a little bit too much for performance. “So, we didn’t qualify where we should have qualified. We adjusted the setup for the race and we were a lot more competitive. Ben had a really great first stint, staying out of the carnage at the start and driving us to the front. Chris also started his stint really strong, putting himself in a good position. “But then, unfortunately, a little bit of an opportunistic move on the other car ahead meant that, of course, we received a deserved drive-through penalty. That meant I had to go from P24 in my stint. But I had fun and the pace of our car was really good. It was very hectic, with a lot of chaos around me to get to the front. “But in the end, to finish ninth, recovering from that drive-through, I think was really strong. So overall, although it was not the result that we wanted, a lot has been learned, and it was a positive weekend,” summed up Verstappen, who will now travel to Austin to kick-start another triple-header of the US GP, Mexico GP and Brazilian GP. Verstappen Calls Out Fans for Personal Attacks But before that, the Dutchman came to the aid of his GT teammate Lulham after a barrage of abuse from his fans on social media. Just when he made the mistake, fans on the livestream started picking on the sim racer. It was the same on X (formerly Twitter) and even on Lulham’s Instagram. The Brit came up to Verstappen to apologize after the race, as captured on the live feed. The situation only fueled the fans, degrading his credentials as a sim racer. Verstappen called out the fans for such behavior, coming to Lulham’s rescue. “Exciting weekend! Was very happy to be racing our GT3 car in Portimão,” he wrote. “There were some ups and downs, but as a team we learnt a lot. “I also feel I need to speak up about the hate and harassment Chris has received after the race. Everyone can have their opinions about what happened on track, but these personal attacks are not okay. Chris had a really strong stint and mistakes can happen. There’s no place for this kind of abuse in our sport or anywhere else.”