Max Verstappen Enjoys Red Bull-Fueled Victory and Well-Deserved Rest

FYI: Max Verstappen’s recent slump at the Hungarian Grand Prix has raised questions about his late-night sim racing habits.

Red Bull Addresses Verstappen’s Fatigue Concerns

After Max Verstappen’s underwhelming performance at the recent Hungarian Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing has been vocal about potential reasons behind his off-form. The three-time Formula 1 World Champion exhibited erratic driving and expressed frustration over the team radio, which some attributed to fatigue from a late-night simulation race.

Late-Night Sim Racing: Cause for Concern?

During the Spa 24 Hours Virtual event, Verstappen was called upon as a last-minute replacement for a teammate who failed to show. His stint commenced around 1am, and he only relinquished control of his virtual car at approximately 3:30am. These late hours were just before the demanding Hungarian Grand Prix, raising eyebrows over whether the sim race impacted his physical readiness.

Verstappen Responds to Critics

When confronted with criticism regarding his radio outbursts and erratic behavior, Verstappen had a blunt message for his detractors, suggesting that “all of them should just disappear.”

Red Bull’s Official Stance

On Monday, Red Bull clarified their position in a statement. They acknowledged Verstappen’s awareness of his actions but did not believe the simulation race significantly affected his race-day performance. The team confirmed plans to hold a meeting "later in the week" where concerns would be discussed with Verstappen’s race engineer, Giampiero Lambiase.

Helmut Marko’s Defense

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko defended Verstappen, highlighting his impressive capacity to perform under similar circumstances in the past. Marko noted, “He led for even longer at Imola and won the race. Max has a different rhythm to me and to most other people, and his bedtime is normal for him.”

Conclusion of the Meeting

Following their meeting, Red Bull resolved to address the root of the issue. The team aimed to ensure that Verstappen gets adequate sleep before races to maintain peak performance. Marko emphasized, "Max Verstappen has been pretty nervous this weekend and, of course, it didn’t take long for the criticism to come in—understandable given that he spends half his nights racing on a sim."

Heading Forward

Marko explained that an agreement was reached to prevent Verstappen from participating in any further sim races close to Grand Prix weekends.

"If I was at Red Bull and my star driver was staying up till 3am playing video games, I would probably have stopped it a long time ago," Marko admitted. There’s no reason he can’t enjoy his hobbies whenever he wants, but it’s clearly impacting his performance as much as nightlife would."

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Donald Smith, Editor of Automotive.fyi

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