Lando Norris was left in disbelief watching Max Verstappen recover from 24th place to finish ninth in the GT World Challenge Europe final at Portimao, a comeback that followed a drive-through penalty for his teammate.
Verstappen raced as part of Verstappen Racing alongside Chris Lulham. The team faced a damage limitation task after Lulham was involved in a collision that resulted in a drive-through penalty. When Lulham handed the car over to Verstappen for the final hour, the team sat in 24th position.
Despite the setback, Verstappen produced a series of overtakes to climb to ninth place by the chequered flag.
Norris Reacts on Livestream
Norris, watching the action on a Twitch livestream, said: "Oh, wait! It's already over? Max went from P24 to P9?"
When told about the penalty Lulham received, he added: "Oh, wait, Lulham got a drive-through penalty! And Max still went from P24 to P9 afterwards? What a shame, that's really unfortunate."
He continued: "But he still went from P24 to P9 afterwards! That's something else."
Verstappen Condemns Abuse
The incident and penalty led to Lulham receiving abuse, which Verstappen addressed in a social media statement.
Verstappen wrote: "Exciting weekend! Was very happy to be racing our GT3 car in Portimão. There were some ups and downs, but as a team we learnt a lot."
He added: "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."
He concluded: "There's no place for this kind of abuse in our sport or anywhere else."
F1 Form Continues
Verstappen's performance came after winning the last two F1 races in Bahrain and Singapore. He will aim for a third consecutive victory at the United States GP on Sunday, 25 October.
