Verstappen trades F1 for GT4 grit at the ‘Ring, Sainz wins appeal, and COTA backs Cadillac not to be last
Max Verstappen spent his Saturday doing what Max Verstappen does: going fast in something that shouldn’t be that fast. The Red Bull star dipped into endurance racing at the Nürburgring, sharing a Porsche GT4 Cayman with Chris Lulham and hustling it to seventh in class around the Nordschleife.
This wasn’t a headline-chasing hypercar cameo. Verstappen’s mount was deliberately hobbled — about 300bhp instead of the Cayman’s usual 425 — and, unsurprisingly, he was mugged on the straights by higher-power machinery after qualifying sixth in class. For context, he was still 25 seconds clear of the nearest CUP3(G) spec in qualifying, which tells you the pace was there in the corners. Across 14 laps of the Green Hell, Verstappen kept the #980 car in contention before handing to Lulham, who boxed clever through changeable conditions and dragged them back into the top 10. P7 in class at the flag, and a neat reminder that racecraft translates, whatever the horsepower.
It’s the kind of outing that looks innocuous on paper and impressive in practice, particularly at the Nürburgring, where a detuned GT4 feels like a go-kart on a runway when the fast stuff whistles by. Verstappen’s stint management and traffic reading were the story; Lulham’s tidy second half sealed it.
Elsewhere in the paddock pages, Williams landed a small but significant win. The team successfully appealed the penalty points given to Carlos Sainz after his clash with Liam Lawson at Zandvoort. The stewards’ review concluded Sainz wasn’t at fault, reclassifying it as a racing incident.
“We are grateful to the stewards for reviewing Carlos’ Zandvoort penalty and are pleased they have now decided he was not at fault,” Williams said. “While it is frustrating that our race was compromised by the original decision, mistakes are part of motor racing, and we will continue to work constructively with the FIA to improve stewarding processes and review the racing rules for the future.”
It’s a noteworthy moment in a season where the margins are razor-thin and the rulebook is under constant scrutiny. Sainz keeps his licence tidy, Williams gets validation for pushing back, and the FIA clock another example of the system doing what it says on the tin — eventually.
There’s movement at the top of motorsport’s politics, too. FIA presidential candidate Tim Mayer checked in on his campaign, laying out the broader strokes of his platform as he prepares to take on incumbent Mohammed Ben Sulayem in December. It’s early-days messaging rather than manifesto specifics, but the tone suggests a bid framed around governance and direction rather than a bomb-throwing overhaul. Expect the temperature to rise as the vote gets closer — they always do.
In Austin, COTA boss Bobby Epstein offered a pointed view on Cadillac’s impending arrival on the F1 grid. Asked about preparations for an expanded pitlane, he made it clear he doesn’t see the American brand starting life at the back.
“I don’t expect them to be the last-place team,” Epstein said, adding that the circuit will build new garages to accommodate the extra entry, but he rejects the idea those are destined for Cadillac. “What makes you think that garage is going to be for Cadillac? Because I don’t expect them to be the last-place team.”
It’s bullish, but not baseless. New teams usually get a bruising education in year one; Epstein’s confidence underlines how serious this project is perceived to be. The proof — as ever — will be found on Saturdays and Sundays.
Finally, Formula 1 continues to monitor the situation in Qatar after a targeted attack struck Doha earlier this week. The championship is due to race at Lusail late in the season, and while it’s close to the capital, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali struck a cautious but steady note.
“That is very tragic, very difficult,” Domenicali told The Observer. “We are monitoring the situation very closely but we are not in a situation today where we can say that it is a concern [for the race to go ahead]. We hope that sport will bring positivity.”
It’s the balance F1 frequently has to walk: staying on top of security realities while keeping the calendar intact. For now, the event remains on.
So, a Saturday that started with a detuned Cayman taking on the world’s most demanding ribbon of tarmac ends with tidy housekeeping in the stewards’ room, a live wire of an FIA election beginning to hum, and a Texan promoter backing Cadillac to swing above its weight. In other words: a fairly normal day in this very abnormal sport.
