Arthur Leclerc has expressed his excitement at sharing the track with Max Verstappen during the GT World Challenge Europe weekend at Portimão. The Ferrari driver is among the notable names competing in Portugal, alongside Valentino Rossi and the four-time Formula 1 world champion.

Verstappen's participation has attracted considerable attention this weekend, with the Dutchman stepping away from his usual Formula 1 commitments to compete in GT racing. Leclerc, the younger brother of Ferrari F1 driver Charles Leclerc, is particularly enthusiastic about the opportunity to race against him.

"It's really cool. I mean, it's amazing to see as well Max this weekend that he's with us, such a legend in Formula 1. So to race him will be really cool," Leclerc said.

Leclerc admits difficulties ahead of qualifying

Despite his excitement about Verstappen's presence, Leclerc acknowledged that his team still has work to do after struggling to match the pace during free practice.

"Let's see. I mean, free practice was struggling a little bit. We were six tenths behind. So obviously, it's a bit of time, but we'll try to recover it for Qualifying"

Leclerc's comments come ahead of qualifying at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, where Verstappen is sharing the #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 with Chris Lulham and Ben Barnicoat.

The Dutchman's team finished the opening practice session in 20th place before improving to fourth in FP2, with Lulham setting its fastest lap of 1:43.229.

Follow GTWC qualifying at Portimao LIVE here!