Max Verstappen isn’t just dominating Formula One – he’s making waves in the virtual racing world too. The three-time F1 World Champion has become deeply invested in sim racing, and he thinks it’s anything but child’s play.
“Everyone always thinks that it’s just a game and it’s fun, easy going,” Verstappen told The Athletic. “But I would say the competition is just as hard, or even harder, to nail – to win – than in real life.”
That’s quite a statement from someone who knows a thing or two about real-world racing.
It wasn’t always this way for the Dutch superstar. Back when he was younger, sim racing was just something fun to do with friends between karting and school.
“From 2009 until like 2015, I did a bit but just for fun,” he explained. “I never really had time to spend a lot of time on the simulator because combining school and go-karting, it was not possible.”
But everything changed when he started racing against top-level virtual drivers.
“I realized, ‘OK, this is actually a lot of fun when I’m surrounded by really good drivers, and I want to try and be good at it as well,'” Verstappen said.
He didn’t just dip his toes in – he dove right in. These days, Verstappen owns a majority stake in Team Redline, one of the most respected sim racing teams out there.
When he’s not pushing his Red Bull F1 car to the limit on real tracks, you’ll often find him competing in virtual races. He’s even been known to jump into online competitions between actual F1 race weekends.
The crossover between virtual and real racing keeps getting stronger. With sim racing technology getting better every year, the line between the two worlds continues to blur.
