British simracer impressed by Verstappen: 'Then he would be insanely good'

16:25, 18 Aug

Updated: 17:19, 18 Aug

bySandy van Wijngaarden

One of Max Verstappen's biggest hobbies next to Formula 1 is sim racing. And the Red Bull Racing driver is really good at it. The Dutchman has received a lot of admiration from a British GT driver who's raced against him virtually.

When Max Verstappen has some free time from the busy F1 calendar, he likes to spend a few hours behind his simulator. Together with his sim racing team, Team Redline, the Dutchman participates in virtual races several times a year.

British sim racer is impressed with Verstappen

James Baldwin, a British Esports professional, is impressed by how Verstappen can combine his Formula 1 career with sim racing.

"It's wild, isn't it? I mean, I think with Max, if he was like full-time sim racer, he'd be nuts. Top five. He'd be like well up there."

According to the Brit, however, Verstappen has an advantage over the rest.

"Obviously he's got team Redline, his team. So he's got lots of sim racers working for him.

"So, you know, if he wants a setup or settings for a game, he can just get the best one straight away.

"It's worth saying that. He doesn't have to like grind on his own to find those setups and stuff."

Max Verstappen - Red Bull Contentpool

The adaptability of the four-time world champion is particularly special.

"But he does seem to just jump in without too much practice and be on it, which is pretty nuts.

"I think he's just very adaptable as a driver, isn't he? I think you could chuck him in anything and he'd be like, [I can do this]," Baldwin said in the BackSeat Drivers podcast.

Is this adaptability due to his many hours in the simulator? "Probably helps, yeah. Probably has taught him quite a lot about different driving styles."

Verstappen has experienced various virtual successes with his sim racing team, Team Redline.

The most recent was the victory in the virtual 24 hours of Spa-Francorchamps.