With F1 24 releasing later this month, drivers got together to guess their teammates’ ratings on the latest edition of F1’s official videogame. For Max Verstappen, there wasn’t any surprise in the way EA Sports (the game’s maker) rated him. But the Dutchman was far from happy with his Red Bull partner Sergio Perez’s numbers.
Verstappen was sure that Perez would have an overall score of 90. However, when the actual scores were revealed, the Mexican driver was marked down as an 87-rated in-game driver. This left Verstappen confused, and he said, “How does that make sense?”
The ratings in F1’s games are broken down into four aspects – Experience, Race Craft, Awareness, and Pace. Perez’s lowest rating came on the Awareness scale with a score of 79. This score was calculated keeping in mind the crashes and penalties the driver received in 2023. And Perez understood that it brought down his overall rating.
Verstappen on the other hand, remains the highest-rated driver in the game. He has a score of 96, which can be further broken down into 85 for Experience, 98 for Race Craft, 94 for Awareness, and 96 for Pace.
2023 dominance makes Max Verstappen the highest-rated driver on F1 24
Verstappen has been the dominant driver in F1 since the ground-effect regulations came into effect in 2022.
Last year, however, he dominated unlike any driver ever did in the past. With 19 wins in 22 races, EA Sports didn’t hesitate in making Verstappen the highest-rated driver in the game, and also the face of the company.
That being said, Verstappen’s dominance is under threat in 2024. The season started well for the 26-year-old, but Red Bull’s performance has faltered, allowing McLaren and Ferrari to catch up.
Max Verstappen 2023 A season in stats pic.twitter.com/x8zQo2ECfz
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) January 5, 2024
Verstappen has already lost three races this season in eight outings (more than the whole of 2023); to Carlos Sainz, Lando Norris, and Charles Leclerc. If McLaren and Ferrari keep closing the gap to Red Bull, Verstappen’s Championship defense could be under jeopardy moving on.
In the F1 24 game, however, he remains the best, and regardless of the outcome in this year’s championship, is expected to be the highest rated driver in next year’s installment too.
