While Max Verstappen had been dubbed as a special talent ever since his debut in F1 during the 2015 season, he has developed as a polished driver only in recent years. His four consecutive world championships are a testament to the same, cementing him as the best driver on the current grid. But where does the 27-year-old hold an edge over his rivals?
According to Red Bull Racing’s eSports driver, Jarno Opmeer, the Dutchman’s rivals need to brush up on their sim racing skills if they ever want to reach his level.
“If they want to get to his level, they don’t have any other choice [but to get into sim racing], otherwise you won’t get good enough,” said Opmeer told Formule1.nl, as quoted on X (formerly Twitter). “I think everyone will agree with me that Max has just a little more than the rest. And I’m a bit convinced that it’s also because of sim racing,” he added.
jarmo opmeer to formule1:
“max is kind of the founder in F1 in terms of simracing. if they want to get to his level, they don’t have any other choice [but to get into simracing], otherwise you won’t get good enough.
i think everyone will agree with me that max has just a… pic.twitter.com/H9RvcK8LOL
— nini (@SCUDERIAFEMBOY) December 13, 2024
Opmeer is in the perfect position to gauge Verstappen‘s credibility as a sim racer given that he is a two-time F1 eSports champion himself. This season, the #1 driver showed his caliber effortlessly as he defended his drivers’ title whilst also winning virtual events such as the 24 Hours of Nurburgring and Spa-Francorchamps.
Is sim racing really the secret to Verstappen’s F1 success?
While Opmeer is of the opinion that sim racing sets Verstappen apart from his rivals, the 2024 Hungarian GP did highlight a flaw in that analogy. The Red Bull driver was scheduled to run the 24 Hours of Spa during the same time as the Grand Prix weekend.
He was apparently up until late in the night doing his stint and many pointed out that this led to his groggy behavior during the race — lashing out at his team on the radio comms during a forgetful race for the four-time world champion.
In the aftermath of the race, it was reported that Red Bull had banned the Dutchman from participating in sim racing events which clashed with his F1 duties. But the 27-year-old was quick to rubbish those claims, suggesting instead that the team doesn’t need to tell him how to prioritize his on-track racing.
