Following reports that Max Verstappen may not be able to late-night sim race before a grand prix – stemming from team advisor Dr. Helmut Marko’s comments – the Formula 1 drivers’ championship table leader has moved to rubbish the claims of an agreement.
“When you don’t win a race you can always argue what it was, was it what you ate the night before or didn’t you go to the toilet before the race?” he said before the Belgian Grand Prix.
“There are always things, your warmup maybe wasn’t right, I don’t believe in that.
“I’m a three-time world champion, I think I know quite well what I can do and what I cannot do.
“I’ve been doing that already for eight or nine years, this kind of stuff, and suddenly now because you have one race where things don’t work out, then these kinds of things get brought up by some people.”
The comments came following a tricky Hungarian race earlier this month, just hours after Verstappen had completed a three-hour stint on Saturday night/Sunday morning to help Team Redline with the iRacing 24 Hours of Spa.
“For me, it’s just like any other day, for me it had nothing to do with that, I think I’m professional enough to know when it’s appropriate or not and we move on from that.”
Earlier this week, Marko wrote in his Speedweek column – part of Red Bull Media House – that an agreement had been struck to possibly prevent the Dutch driver from sim racing so late before a real-world race.
“Max Verstappen was rather thin-skinned this weekend, and of course, it didn’t take long for criticism to arise – no wonder, since he spends half the night playing sim racing,” he wrote.
“I have to say that in Imola he didn’t go to bed until three in the morning after a sim racing session – and then won the grand prix. Max has a different sleep pattern, and he had his seven hours of sleep.
“His late-night sim appearance on the Hungary weekend only came about because a driver in his team had dropped out. Nevertheless, we agreed that he would no longer run simulations so late in the future.”
So, should sim racing activities be ‘paused’ for the 26-year-old now that there is increased pressure from other F1 teams? Or should he press on in the same way he has over the past few years?
We ran a brief poll on X earlier today, with the following results:
- Max can do what he wants – 77.3%
- Helmut’s suggestion wins – 14.7%
- I’ve not heard about this – 8%
Here’s what some of Traxion team think, and be sure to have your say in the article comments below.
Now the competition is close, it’s time to stay sharp – Ross McGregor
So, Max Verstappen was apparently banned by his Red Bull team from sim racing so late before an F1 race, with Dr. Helmut Marko quoted as saying: “…we agreed that he would no longer run simulations so late in the future.”
Verstappen later disputed this claim, seemingly happy to continue doing what he’s done – successfully – for the last near-decade.
Never has sim racing been so under the microscope as it is now, with a current and a three-time world champion being its biggest proponent. Verstappen has to be applauded for giving our hobby credence, but he must also acknowledge that sim racing, or doing any intense activity until 3 am on the morning of an important F1 race, isn’t ideal preparation.
Trying to fall asleep directly after sim racing is tough at the best of times too, it can take hours to get back into a relaxed state if the driving is intense enough, so we don’t know for sure if he did indeed get enough shut-eye, or if it was good quality, REM-filled sleep.
Sim racing in 24-hour enduros takes a lot of concentration and stamina at the top level; having competed in SRO Esports’ blue-ribband Spa 24 Hours event I know first-hand how energy-sapping it can be.
Did staying up until the wee small hours make my next working day a productive one? Absolutely not. Would I have performed better at work by not sim racing the night before? Yes.
I’m no Max Verstappen by any means, but he’s still a human being who requires adequate physical and mental rest before piloting a vehicle to its limits – the safety concerns should be more than reason enough to ensure optimal preparation.
Verstappen sim raced before the Emilia-Romagna GP to greater effect, waltzing away with victories in real and virtual worlds, but the RB20 was a dominant machine in his hands then: he didn’t need to be on top form to ease ahead of the pack.
Red Bull’s rivals have drawn closer on pace in the meantime, so Verstappen has to fight for victory. And in close fights, small margins make the difference.
Verstappen’s presence is a net positive for sim racing – Thomas Harrison-Lord
Travelling around the world with a sim racing setup is a commitment to the cause. Backing Team Redline, yet another example. Turning up and being part of Twitch streams in-between grands prix the icing on the cake.
Not only is Max Verstappen extremely talented, but he evidently cares about our tiny little sub-genre, sim racing.
There’s a group of esports talent who can legitimately call a 61-time grid prix winner as their friend and team-mate, relationships formed through sim racing.
I haven’t been a fan of some allegedly retaliative moves on the virtual track, I was not hot on his Le Mans Virtual attitude either and I’m getting slightly fed up with seeing “Is Max in this split” in chats. But, here’s an active Formula 1 world champion partaking at the highest level in his spare time.
Looking at headlines by the likes of The Telegraph, The Mirror and talkSPORT is week, it doesn’t matter if they have a negative angle (in my opinion) on his sim racing exploits.
The term ‘sim racing’ is used. It’s mainstream. Thank you Max.
In my mind, I appreciate the angle that his focus should be entirely on the F1 race weekend when other teams are closing in on Red Bull.
But if some driver’s evening rituals are to browse Instagram, listen to music or play the piano, if Verstappen uses three hours of sim racing to focus his mind, then so be it.
Anyway, this all seems to be a bit of a moot point – the next 24-hour iRacing special event is not until 2025….
