The F1 star showed his trademark overtaking skills in Portugal

Max Verstappen swapped his F1 car for GT racing as he helped his team go from 24th to ninth after a late penalty.

Making his GT World Challenge debut at Portimão in Portugal in the season finale, Verstappen, of MK-based Red Bull Racing, took to the wheel of his Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo alongside team-mates Chris Lulham and Ben Barnicoat in the three-hour race.

Starting from 13th on the grid after a demanding qualifying session, Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing showed strong race pace from the outset. Barnicoat delivered an excellent opening stint, quickly moving the car into the top 10 and into the mix for a podium result.

As the sun began to dip, Barnicoat handed over to the team's full-time driver Lulham, who made an immediate impact after making a brilliant pass on the #64 Ford Mustang of Thomas Drouet for sixth.

But after being hit with a drive-through penalty, the team dropped to 24th, leaving Verstappen to recover a result in the final stint.

Verstappen needed no second invitation and immediately capitalised on the opportunity, producing a series of decisive overtakes, including passing three cars across Turns 4 and 5, to complete his recovery to ninth place.

Reflecting on the race, Max Verstappen said: "Overall, we had a decent weekend. Unfortunately, we made a mistake with the setup of the car in qualifying, which meant 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 strongly, putting us in a good position. But then, unfortunately, the drive-through penalty meant I had to start my stint from P24.

“I had fun. The pace of our car was really good and it was very hectic with a lot of chaos around me trying to get to the front.

“To recover from P24 and finish ninth was really strong. Although it wasn't the result we wanted, we learned a lot and overall it was a positive weekend.”