Max Verstappen does not accept criticism of his hobby sim racing and does not want to be restricted either: “I live my life!”
Did Max Verstappen let himself be thrown off his game by late-night sim racing sessions during the 2024 Formula 1 season? The topic arose especially after the Hungarian Grand Prix, when the Red Bull driver had only finished fifth after a mixed race and had appeared extremely irritable on the radio.
The night before, Verstappen had taken part in a virtual race until 3 a.m., which led to criticism of his leisure activities and Red Bull suggested that he should no longer play games late into the night before a Grand Prix – a ban was often discussed, but the four-time world champion does not allow himself to be banned.
In any case, he considers the criticism of his hobby to be exaggerated: “I also did a 24-hour race in Imola. I won the sim race and the Formula 1 race,” he sees no connection between the nocturnal session and his performance on the track.
“Nobody talks about that. I slept for six hours. Fine. I know what I can and can’t do,” said the Dutchman in an interview with Viaplay.
As long as the victories keep coming, everything is fine, but…
When he then did a sim race in Hungary again and it didn’t go well, there were “stupid comments from everyone”, along the lines of: Verstappen didn’t sleep well and shouldn’t be doing sim racing.
“But that’s always the case in a team: as long as everything is going well, I can do whatever I want. If I go out for a drink on Saturday night and then win the race, everything is fine. I can do whatever I want and everything will be fine,” he says.
“But if you don’t perform, then everything is a problem: from your preparation to your behavior. That’s the way it is and always will be in Formula 1,” he criticizes. ‘Then things that aren’t good are always brought up immediately. But I’ve been in the sport long enough to know what works and what doesn’t.’
“Nobody is going to tell me how to live my life”
That’s why the Dutchman decides for himself how he spends his free time and won’t be talked out of it – not even by his employer: “No, I say, this is my life and I live my life,” he clarifies. “I don’t tell you how to live your life, do I?”
He is very strict in this regard: “I’ve been in Formula 1 for ten years now, and nobody is going to tell me how to live my life.”
“Of course you can talk about things and say, ‘Hey Max, what you said might not have been the smartest thing to say,’ but that’s okay and we talk about it. But when it comes to sim racing, I say, ‘What about Imola?’ And that’s when it fits.”
And besides, he says, it can also have a positive effect: “In the next race at Spa, it rained in qualifying, and I had the sim race at Spa in the rain. And then I say, ‘I practiced well in the simulator.’ You can always look at it either way.”
