Max Verstappen’s sim racing has lately become a matter of debate inside and outside of Red Bull quarters. It all started with David Croft making a reference to the Dutchman’s 24 Hours of Virtual Spa stint during the Hungarian GP. Croft’s comment came in the midst of some angry radio exchanges between Verstappen and his race-engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, blaming the Dutchman’s sleep deprivation for his short-tempered mood.
The F1 champion’s virtual racing teammate Diogo Pinto has now come out issuing a clarification. Reflecting on his 10-hour stint, Pinto put to rest the rumors suggesting Verstappen had a longer stint.
In fact, Pinto made a specific reference to Verstappen’s Hungarian GP race the next day, which led to him going longer than his teammates. Team Redline on Instagram quoted Pinto as saying,
“Ideally, no driver does more than 8 or 9 hours in a team of 4. But we had Florian with internet issues, Chris with a minor injury at the end, and Max at the F1 Grand Prix. The last 3 stints were challenging. Having the BS guys and our Ford teammates close helped me stay focused since any mistake or drop in pace could mean we would lose the race.”
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Helmut Marko came out in support of Verstappen, citing the 26-year-old’s previous achievements in virtual racing which did not affect his performance during F1 race weekends. The Red Bull taskmaster even blamed Lewis Hamilton for the collision that dropped Verstappen to P5.
However, he refused to defend Verstappen’s angry radio outbursts, dubbing them “inappropriate”. Red Bull, however, has taken a stern stance on Verstappen’s sim racing. While they will not interfere in his other races, the Dutchman has been told to avoid participating in e-races during a Grand Prix weekend.
Verstappen throws shade at Red Bull’s diktat
Whether or not the Dutchman will follow the instructions of Red Bull, only time will tell. However, one thing is clear; he is not thrilled about it in the present. In one of his recent live streams with Team Redline, Verstappen made a reference to the team’s orders in a mocking manner.
Referring to another individual, Verstappen revealed they had a night out. However, he cleared he did not accompany them as he was in his bed by 9 PM.
He said, “He had a night out last night. Not me of course.” One of his teammates, who got the reference, repeated his words in a cheeky tone. To this, Verstappen replied, “I was tucked into bed by 9.”
