Max Verstappen competed in and won two different races last weekend – the Virtual 24 Hours of Nurburgring and the F1 Emilia-Romagna GP. To take part in the former, the Dutch driver had to stay up on the night before the race, and put in two different shifts. However, with false rumors of his lack of sleep coming up, Verstappen took it upon himself to clear the air.
Speaking to the media ahead during the race weekend in Imola, Verstappen said that contrary to what most people believed, he didn’t sleep just five hours the night before his win.
“No, I’ve slept seven hours,” he said. “Yeah, no seven hours. That was quite okay.”
max being like “akshually ☝️☝️ i slept 7 hours” to austrian media pic.twitter.com/sM1lnuXEUJ
— nini (@SCUDERIAFEMBOY) May 19, 2024
It debunks the myth that Verstappen barely got any sleep on his way to Imola, which was one of his more difficult victories in recent years.
Verstappen started the race from pole position, but McLaren’s Lando Norris (who started P2) was never really out of contention. In the closing stages, Norris was within 0.7 seconds of taking the lead from the 26-year-old but ran out of grip, and eventually time.
Nonetheless, winning a prestigious event in sim racing, on the same weekend as winning an F1 race is impressive, even with seven hours of sleep at night.
In the post-race press conference, Verstappen even spoke to Norris about the possibility of them teaming up for a race once again.
Max Verstappen calls Lando Norris an “old man”
Lando Norris used to be an avid sim racer like Verstappen, especially during the COVID lockdown. But, he doesn’t take part in many events anymore. When Verstappen reminded the McLaren driver that the Virtual 24 Hours of Spa is coming up, Norris revealed that he doesn’t have a set-up anymore, instead focusing on going outdoors and playing golf.
Max jokes saying Lando is
“an old man and retired sim racer” pic.twitter.com/p2cCjbKay3
— Lando Norris Fans (@Norrislandofans) May 19, 2024
Norris reminded Verstappen that they needn’t take part in a race together anymore, because they have already won in the past. The latter, however, was having none of it and called Norris an “old man”.
Norris reveals that he often stays indoors, and has a set-up of his own. But that is mainly to watch different sports together at the same time – something that keeps him up at night. He doesn’t have a simulator set-up like his friend Verstappen.
