Max Verstappen had been on track for barely a few minutes when a mistimed move at Turn 3 sent another car spinning. His Mercedes-AMG GT3 clipped the #25 Saintéloc Audi of Ezequiel Pérez Companc, and stewards opened an investigation soon after.
Verstappen ended the 90-minute session in 18th in a 61-car field with a best lap of 1m 43.046. His #3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing entry eventually dropped to 20th overall once team-mates Chris Lulham and Ben Barnicoat completed their stints without improving on his benchmark.
Sharing a car for the first time
The Dutchman is splitting the Mercedes-AMG with Lulham, the team’s regular driver, and Lexus factory driver Barnicoat. His only previous GT3 race this year came at the Nürburgring 24 Hours in May.
“It went well. Of course, I’m most used to the Nürburgring Nordschleife, so it took a little while to get used to driving this car on this circuit,” Verstappen told reporters after his first laps at Portimão.
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“I’m finding my rhythm more and more: the more laps I do, the better it gets.”
Verstappen slotted the Portimão weekend into a one-week gap between two Formula 1 triple-headers. The next F1 round, the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas, falls on 23-25 October.
Winkelhock sets the pace
Marcus Winkelhock topped FP1 in the #84 Audi with a 1m 42.643, around four-tenths quicker than the fastest Verstappen Racing lap. BMW’s #32 was second, followed by the #99 Audi and the #98 BMW. The #46 BMW shared by Valentino Rossi slotted into fifth, with the #17 Team GetSpeed Mercedes leading the three-pointed-star entries.
The Endurance Cup finale is a three-hour race on Saturday, 17 October, with more than 60 GT3 cars and ten manufacturers on the grid. Lights out is scheduled for 5pm local time.
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