Danish teenager tops GT qualifying ahead of Verstappen
Saturday 17th October 2026 on 08:15 in
Denmark
A 19-year-old Danish driver set the fastest time in qualifying for the GT World Challenge Europe season finale in Portugal, finishing ahead of four-time Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen, DR reports.
Simon Birch, from Ikast, completed a lap of the Portimão circuit in 1 minute 41.652 seconds. His time was just over four-tenths of a second faster than Verstappen’s and the quickest among all 183 drivers.
“It was great to beat him. He is a four-time world champion, so it was great to put him behind me,” Birch said after qualifying, according to a press release from Selected Car Racing. He described the lap as “super” and said he was very pleased with it.
Birch shares a Ferrari with fellow Danes Frederik Schandorff and Malte Ebdrup at Selected Car Racing. Team principal Henrik Lundgaard called Birch’s fastest time “almost insane” and said it exceeded the team’s expectations.