With the 2023 season over, Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez, and Christian Horner engaged in a friendly competition amongst themselves alongside Rokt CEO Bruce Buchanan. Competing in an RC car racing challenge, as part of the team’s promotional work, the main prize of the event was a trophy only ‘slightly’ smaller than the Las Vegas GP trophy picked up by Verstappen.
In the challenge video uploaded on Red Bull Racing‘s YouTube channel, the drivers teamed up to go against Horner and Buchanan at the Red Bull Technology campus. The first challenge was “all about trust,” where each team member had to do a lap with a Remote Control F1 car while blindfolded as the other member would guide them through the lap. The first team to complete two laps would win the challenge.
Right off the bat, Verstappen and Horner collided with each other as the Dutchman drove into his boss. However, Perez guided him to reverse the car and continue to a near-perfect lap. This gave the duo a commanding lead before switching roles for the second lap.
With Verstappen guiding Perez home to victory, the host praised the driver-duo for their solid communication, leading to their victory in the round. The duo of Horner and Buchanan could not complete their second lap, as the latter got stuck at the start/finish line.
However, it was only the first round, and Horner and Buchanan still had a chance to win the trophy in the second round. The objective of the round was to knock down a wall of boxes with drivers’ names, years, and country flags on them with a ball. The teams then had to rearrange the wall so that the drivers’ faces aligned with the year they won the Grand Prix.
Not the first time Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez were part of a promotional event with games
Part of an F1 driver’s contract is to engage in friendly competition in promotional events. This has a dual purpose, serving the fans’ delight and the sponsor’s visibility. A couple of months ago, Verstappen and Perez featured in a similar event on a Japanese game show.
They had the company of AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson. The objective of the game was to drive a mini-truck from point A to B with a load of boxes.
As the teams reach point B, they would have to deliver the boxes at the drop zone, get back into their trucks, and drive back to point A. The fastest team to do so would be the winner.
With their strategies set, the Red Bull and AlphaTauri drivers set off. While the competition felt much more even, the Red Bull drivers still secured an easy win.
