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Max Verstappen Strongly Defends Chris Lulham Amid Online Abuse
Highlights
- Chris Lulham penalized for causing collision at Portimao Endurance Cup
- Verstappen Racing dropped from podium to 24th due to drive-through penalty
- Max Verstappen defended Lulham against online abuse on Instagram
- Lulham apologized, thanked team after finishing ninth in rollercoaster race
- Verstappen supports sim racers transitioning to real motorsport via program
- Team aims to learn and improve after challenging season finale
Max Verstappen defends teammate Chris Lulham after a penalty-triggered backlash during the GT World Challenge Europe finale at Portimao, urging respect following intense online abuse.
Lulham, in the #3 Verstappen Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, receives a drive-through for causing a collision with Luca Stolz at Turn 8, shortly after a safety car restart in hour two.
Stewards judge the move avoidable, punishing the car that had been running in podium contention. The sanction drops the entry to 24th before a recovery drive yields ninth place.
A drive-through penalty pulls the #3 Verstappen Racing Mercedes from podium contention to 24th, with a late recovery to ninth.
The contact fuels a wave of social media attacks on Lulham. Verstappen responds on Instagram, stating that debate is fair but personal abuse crosses the line and helps nobody.
His stance reflects a long-standing partnership. The pair build chemistry in sim racing with Team Redline, now rebranded as Verstappen Racing, before stepping into real-world competition together.
“Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but personal attacks are not okay,” says Verstappen.
The Portimao weekend starts strongly but unravels with the penalty. Lulham accepts fault, apologizing to Stolz, Maro Engel, and Lucas Auer, and credits the team for restoring pace after a qualifying setup error.
He describes the run to ninth as a rollercoaster. Verstappen echoes the sentiment, highlighting learning value and racecraft gains despite the costly mid-race incident.
Lulham is the first driver promoted from Verstappen’s sim-to-real pathway, underscoring the program’s long-term intent.
The episode underscores restart risk management in endurance racing. Late-braking moves after safety cars carry heavy jeopardy, and under Endurance Cup regulations, they draw swift steward scrutiny.
Beyond Portimao, the debate mirrors broader conversations about driver treatment and accountability in today’s motorsport environment, where on-track errors can spiral into off-track toxicity.
Verstappen Racing’s immediate focus turns to execution and consistency. The target is clear: refine decision-making in high-variance phases while sustaining pace that had them in podium range.
The team treats the finale as a reference point. With procedures sharpened and driver development ongoing, expectations remain that results will follow across future campaigns.
Visual Summary
Verstappen’s Shield
3rd
Podium
(before)
⬇️
Drive-through penalty
Drive-through penalty
24th
After Incident
9th
Final Push
🌩️
Online Abuse
Social Media Storm
Online Abuse
Social Media Storm
“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion about what happened on track, but these personal attacks are not okay.”
— Max Verstappen
A human mistake. A teammate’s shield. A sim racer’s leap to reality.
Verstappen & Lulham: a bond from screens to asphalt, tested but unbroken.
Verstappen & Lulham: a bond from screens to asphalt, tested but unbroken.
Daniel Miller reports on Formula 1 Grand Prix weekends with race-day analysis, team-radio highlights, and point-standings updates. He explains power-unit upgrades, aerodynamic developments, and driver rivalries in straightforward, SEO-friendly language for a global F1 audience.
