Verstappen surprised everyone in the F1 world by participating in both the Imola Grand Prix and a Nurburgring 24 Hours sim race – and winning both.
He won the Imola race just 15 minutes after his co-driver Chris Lulham secured victory at the Nordschleife on iRacing, the platform for the Nurburgring 24 Hours.
Despite some concerns, Red Bull’s team boss, Christian Horner, assured that Verstappen’s sim racing wouldn’t affect his F1 performance negatively. Horner said, “He is basically a racing machine, so it is not unusual for him to be doing that.”
Verstappen races for Team Redline, a professional team in endurance sim racing. Founded in 2000, Redline has been very successful, winning titles like the iRacing World Championship Grand Prix Series from 2012 to 2015. Verstappen joined Redline in 2015 through director Atze Kerkhof, who worked with him during his F3 campaign.
Verstappen competes in selected sim racing events due to his busy schedule but performs excellently. He has won races like the Spa 24 Hours and the Bathurst 12 Hours. However, he faced controversy during the 2022-23 Le Mans Virtual Series finale due to technical issues.
Fans can watch Verstappen’s sim races on Twitch, where Team Redline streams events. Verstappen’s involvement in sim racing has raised questions about his future. He expressed interest in competing in the real Le Mans 24 Hours and may even start his own GT3 racing team.
While Verstappen is open to other racing categories, he’s in no rush to make the move, preferring to wait and see how things develop in endurance racing.
