Red Bull Advisor Dr. Helmut Marko has revealed Max Verstappen will no longer be participating in late-night sim-racing sessions before Formula 1 Grands Prix after the Dutchman was competing virtually until 3 am ahead of last weekend’s race in Hungary.
Verstappen is no stranger to sim-racing competition and participates regularly as a part of Team Redline.
Ahead of the Formula 1 Hungarian GP, the Dutchman was competing in the virtual 24 Hours of Spa sim-racing event and was required to contest a night-time stint after a team-mate became unavailable.
Competing through to the early hours of the morning on Sunday, some criticised Verstappen for his actions, attributing them as the cause for outbursts over team radio during last Sunday’s GP.
Marko, in a column for Speedweek, pointed out that Verstappen has gone on to win F1 races after competing on the sim during the night before revealing the Dutchman and Red Bull have agreed not to continue this in the future.
“Verstappen was rather thin-skinned this weekend, and of course it didn’t take long for criticism to arise – no wonder, given that he spends half the night playing sim racing,” Marko wrote.
“I have to say this: In Imola, he didn’t go to bed until three o’clock in the morning after a sim racing session – and then won the Grand Prix.
“Max has a different sleep rhythm and he had his seven hours of sleep.
“His late-night sim race on the Hungarian weekend only came about because a driver in his team was cancelled.
“Nevertheless, we have agreed that he will no longer drive sims so late in future.”
It’s easy to point the finger at Verstappen and attribute his frustration during last weekend’s GP to his late sim-racing, but it is more important to recognise that in the heat of the moment, drivers often vent over team radio when a race isn’t going their way.
This was the case for Verstappen, who was frustrated with team strategy and the overall pace of his Red Bull.
The Dutchman has never been afraid to call out his team in public if they aren’t meeting his lofty standards, ever the perfectionist claimed “some people need to wake up a bit” within Red Bull’s ranks after he was out-qualified by McLaren in Hungary.
With that frustration spiling over into Sunday and people claiming the sim-racing had a part to play, Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner said, “I think people draw conclusions.
“Max knows what’s required, he knows what it takes to drive a grand prix car and to win grands prix and be a World Champion.”
