The F1 2024 season has not even begun and Max Verstappen is already in the mood to get to racing. The Dutchman is all set to compete in the iRacing event of the 24 Hours of Daytona. He will compete in the event alongside two of his Team Redline members, Diogo Pinto and Sebastian Job. The event will begin on Saturday, January 20.
Among all the F1 drivers, Verstappen is arguably one of the very few who actively takes part in simulator racing. The Red Bull driver is so passionate about simulator racing that he also owns an e-sports side called Team Redline.
While Verstappen is arguably the best driver on the current F1 grid, he has found challenges in simulator racing that have been beyond his control. He participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans last year when numerous connectivity issues meant that he could not even compete in the race.
As a result of such a disappointing experience, Verstappen was quick to express his annoyance with the organizer of the event. The Dutchman will now hope that he does not face any such issues on this occasion and that he can achieve success even in simulator racing, an area where he also spends most of his time.
Max Verstappen is motivated most when he is winning
There is no secret that Max Verstappen loves competition. The Dutchman only competes in sports that he is good at since he hates losing. On several occasions in the past, Verstappen has explained how he does not enjoy a sport like padel because he is not good at it.
However, when it comes to any kind of racing, the 26-year-old does not mind competing. Racing seems to be in Verstappen’s blood and he also spoke about how he even enjoys competing in simulator racing events during F1 Grand Prix weekends.
In an interview two years ago, Verstappen said, “During F1 weekends when I jump out of my car, I would be on Discord texting the guys to keep me updated with set-ups and ideas to try. It’s 40 or 50 hours of preparation before a 24-hour race because I want to win in whatever I do“.
While there is no doubt that the three-time F1 champion is one of the best drivers in the sport, he is nowhere close to being the best in simulator racing. It is for the same reason that Verstappen is keen to learn from his friends and why he began his own e-sports side, Team Redline.
Verstappen hopes that his off-track initiative will help him even establish himself as one of the best in virtual racing. Since he enjoys simulator racing so much, some people also believe that the Dutchman may choose to retire from F1 after his contract ends in 2028 and get more involved in virtual racing since he has won everything there is to win in F1.
