Three-time world champion, Max Verstappen arrived at the paddock in Imola for two races. The Dutchman was scheduled to compete in the virtual 24 Hours of Nurburgring on iRacing alongside his racing duties for Red Bull at the 2024 Emilia Romagna GP.
In the end, Verstappen aced his entire weekend, becoming probably the first driver to win two races during a single Grand Prix weekend. According to his sim-racing team, Team Redline, the Dutchman put in a solid stint to ensure they won the event.
In an Instagram post, Redline broke down the stints of all their four drivers. Juggling his duties behind the wheel of his RB20 and his virtual sim-rig, the 26-year-old drove a total of 4 hours and 53 minutes on the virtual tarmac of the legendary Nurburgring. His team came out victorious in the end with a staggering 36.776s advantage at the chequered flag.
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Verstappen jumped on his bespoke sim-rig right after Qualifying in pole for Sunday’s Emilia Romagna GP. He then went on to put in his stint. As it turns out, he inherited P1 but extended the lead massively before handing over the reigns of his BMW M4 GT3 to his teammates.
Sunday saw Team Redline win the 24 Hours of Nurburgring, and Verstappen then promptly went on to make it two-for-two at Imola. The Dutchman was harried by McLaren’s Lando Norris during the last ten laps of the race but he eventually took the chequered flag first – by a slim margin of just 0.7 seconds.
Max Verstappen and his love for sim-racing
The Red Bull driver takes his sim racing very seriously. Verstappen is an avid sim racer and has all the gear and means at his disposal to ensure he gets to put the hours into his craft even as he balances life as a Formula 1 driver.
As reported by Motorsport.com, Verstappen had a bespoke sim rig built and delivered to his motorhome for the 2024 Emilia Romagna GP, so as to allow him to partake in the iRacing event. In the past, driving for Team Redline, Verstappen has competed in and won many major accolades in the sim-racing circles.
He describes the sport as a very good way of keeping himself sharp – and he seems to enjoy it as much as racing a real car in Formula 1. Safe to say, his talent on track has translated seamlessly into the virtual world as he appears to be dominating that league as well!
