One of the great passions of Max Verstappen off the circuit is driving, but in this case, in simulator racing (SimRacing). The Dutch driver has already surprised everyone by driving a long online relay early in the morning on the same day he was supposed to compete in Emilia-Romagna GP. The lack of sleep didn’t affect him. He won the race and withstood the final pressure of a faster car like Norris’s McLaren without making a mistake. But in Hungary he repeated it again and the version he gave on the track was not the same. And for this, he had to endure criticism.
Above all, some recounted his character in Hungary, through the radios where he spoke aggressively and rather disrespectfully to his engineer, with the fact that he had little sleep. And then, statements from Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko suggested that the Milton Keynes team had banned him from participating in online simulator relays in the early hours of the morning during the Grand Prix weekend. But Max clarified what happened.
“Max’s sleep rhythm is different and he sleeps seven hours,” said Marko in ‘Speedweek’ after the Hungarian GP. “His Hungarian weekend night simulation session was held because a driver from his team had to cancel his participation in the race. However, we have agreed that he will not compete in simulation races this late in the future.”, he declared. Immediately, multiple media outlets pointed out that they were talking about a Red Bull ‘ban’ on Max. But the Dutchman made it all clear at the 2024 F1 Belgian GP.
“It’s not a ban”
“We talked about it. Anyway, there is no other sim race coming up, so no one has to worry about that. So, no, it’s not because I have a ban or anything. I also don’t have to tell them (the team) what they do in their free time and on weekends, and the same goes for me. “Running until 3 in the morning is not new and it is something very important in my life”argued about it.
In addition, he recalled his great performance in Imola after completing a relay in a 24 Hours of iRacing the night before the Emilia-Romagna GP, where he achieved victory. “Whenever you don’t win the race, people blame it: ‘Ahh, he’s up until 3 in the morning or he has extra kilos,'” he commented in remarks reported by the ‘Autosport’ portal.
“There are always things to fix and argue about when you don’t win a race. but, For example, in Imola I won the race, both of them. I’ve been doing it since 2015. So for me it’s not something different from my preparation. “I mean, I’ve won three world championships, I think I know what I can and can’t do.”he is qualified.
“I’ve always been very hard on myself, on what’s allowed and what’s not, so I think with all the experience I’ve had in Formula 1, I know very well what’s possible and what’s not.”he concluded the matter.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
