Verstappen confirms October GT3 return

Max Verstappen has confirmed he will squeeze another GT3 race into an already packed Formula 1 schedule later this month.

Speaking to Dutch media at Sepang on Thursday, Verstappen said he will race for his own outfit in the GT World Challenge Europe event at Portimao on October 17.

"I’m looking forward to it," he said. "It will be seven busy weeks, but I’m enjoying it."

The three-hour race falls in what would otherwise have been Verstappen’s only free weekend between Formula 1’s Malaysia-Singapore double-header and the next triple-header.

He will share a Mercedes-AMG GT3, although his teammate has not yet been confirmed.

"I know that two of my drivers won’t be part of the line-up, so two other drivers need to step in. Let’s see what we can do there."

Verstappen, however, asserted Fernando Alonso would not be joining him in the line-up.

"No, he’s not driving with me," Verstappen stated.

"I don’t know what he means by that, but no, from my side, it’s all clear, we know what we want to do.

"Of course, I would have loved to see my normal drivers compete, but the calendar has changed at times, and that’s okay.

"I mean, I love Portimao. I love being in Portugal. So we’ll try and have a good weekend."