Max Verstappen might dominate Formula 1, but there’s one racing challenge that actually made him feel queasy – virtual reality racing.
The three-time F1 world champion loves to spend his downtime sim racing, often streaming his virtual battles with Team Redline on Twitch. But when he tried VR racing a few years back, it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing.
“I got a little bit sick while driving because you have no spatial awareness,” Verstappen admitted in a recent interview on Track Limits’ YouTube channel. “But that was three-four years ago, and the technology has improved a lot since then.”
VR racing is different from regular sim racing because it completely immerses drivers in a virtual world. Instead of looking at screens, racers wear special headsets that make them feel like they’re actually sitting in the cockpit.
Despite his rocky first experience, Verstappen isn’t completely ruling out giving VR another shot.
“Some of my friends have been trying it on a lot and it’s coming along nicely,” he said. “I think it still needs a little bit more time to really get the most out of it, but it’s something very interesting for the future.”
For now, though, the Dutch racing star is sticking to traditional sim racing – where he’s pretty much as dominant as he is on real tracks.
It’s probably worth noting that even virtual racing makes most of us mere mortals feel dizzy. So maybe there’s something comforting about knowing that even F1’s most dominant driver can get a bit wobbly in the virtual world.
