Verstappen defends Lulham after Portimão penalty

Max Verstappen defended teammate Chris Lulham against personal attacks after Verstappen Racing finished ninth overall in the Portimão GT World Challenge Europe finale, following a drive-through penalty during the race. Verstappen said the abuse directed at Lulham online was unacceptable, while acknowledging that mistakes can happen. Lulham received the penalty after contact during an attempted overtake, according to the race accounts. The reports did not detail the scale or specific content of the online abuse. Verstappen took over the Mercedes-AMG GT3 in 24th place after the penalty had been served. He said he recovered to ninth, the team’s overall result. The car also finished fifth in the Pro Cup class, according to Verstappen’s account. The three-driver team included Verstappen, Lulham and Ben Barnicoat. Barnicoat drove the opening stint, and Lulham took over before the contact with the Mercedes driven by Luca Stolz. Verstappen said Lulham had started his stint strongly before the incident. Verstappen described the penalty as deserved and said it left him with a difficult recovery. He said the car had been more competitive in the race after the team changed its setup,...