Max Verstappen is dominating the world of F1 at the moment, with three world titles to his name. However, with the sport in the middle of a break, he needs to find other things he can shine in. So the 26-year-old turned back to his old love, FIFA (video game), and nearly got the better of five-time Dutch FIFA champion Koen Weijland.
Weijland is also a presenter for Viaplay, one of Verstappen’s sponsors. Viaplay posted a video on YouTube of Verstappen going one-on-one with Weijland. The latter chose Ajax as his team, whereas Verstappen stuck to the soccer club he supports – PSV Eindhoven.
Considering the fact that Weijland is a five-time national champion, one could expect him to thrash a Formula 1 driver. However, a high-flying Verstappen was resolute throughout the game. He couldn’t win, unfortunately, but nearly got the better of Weijland, losing just 2-0.
Weijland didn’t take the Dutch driver lightly, though. Verstappen’s performance wasn’t sheer luck either. The Red Bull driver performed so well against a pro FIFA player, because he himself is a huge fan of the game. Some would say, he was obsessed.
Max Verstappen played 14 hours of FIFA before tussling with Lewis Hamilton
In 2021, Verstappen was engaged in a very intense battle for the world championship with rival Lewis Hamilton. The US GP was one of the penultimate races of the season, with both his team (Red Bull) and Hamilton’s (Mercedes), feeling the pressure.
Before the race, however, Verstappen resorted to playing 14 hours of FIFA (now known as EA FC), as revealed by team principal Christian Horner. What’s even more surprising is the fact that the 26-year-old went on to win the race in Austin, despite Hamilton throwing everything he had at him.
There were reports of the Dutchman even opening packs on FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) before a racing game. That fact shouldn’t be surprising, because he was once number 21 in the world! Being a full-time F1 driver and grinding FIFA to that extent is no easy feat – especially if one wants to succeed in either.
Verstappen was also ranked as the 31st best FIFA player in the world, back when he was playing the 2017 version of the game. His gamer tag was ‘crgboy007‘, and he was creating havoc in the online world of soccer. Today, he is doing the same in the world of F1.
