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Max Verstappen is known for his love of racing in all its formats, including the virtual world of sim racing, leading sim racing mate, Gabriel Bortoleto, to assert that the Dutchman has been a pioneer in the sim racing sphere. The pair have had a close bond that has traversed onto the racetrack multiple times.
The four-time F1 champion not only races in F1, but he also often picks up side quests in his racing journey along the way. Moreover, he was also one of the first mainstream drivers to pick up the idea of sim racing and popularise it within the paddock through his streams.
Reflecting on how the Dutchman was the first one to take sim racing seriously, Bortoleto said on the Beyond the Grid podcast:
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"Verstappen has been a pioneer in taking sim racing seriously. I'm sure that in 10 years, all the drivers will be geeks talking about sim racing."
"Max with the sim, I think, he was the first real driver to get the sim thing very serious; even if nowadays in grid there is still I think 90% of the grid doesn't do sim at home, but they do a lot in the factory. But they don't do at home, but I don't know, I'm quite sure in 10 years you will see drivers here sitting that there are going to be nerds talking about sim and playing the whole day at home because that's what they grow up with."
On the other hand, Max Verstappen and Gabriel Bortoleto are often spotted having fun within the paddock whenever they cross paths.
Gabriel Bortoleto deems Max Verstappen his "living idol"
While Ayrton Senna is Gabriel Bortoleto's idol, partly owing to his Brazilian roots, the 20-year-old has often shared glaring admiration for Max Verstappen as well. So, talking with Viaplay about how the Red Bull driver has acted as his living idol in the racing realm, he said:
"Max [Verstappen] has been my idol alive. You know, Senna obviously has been the guy, but I've never seen him racing. But Max has been the young guy that's breaking the system completely. Young in Formula 1, and aggressive, winning races."
Meanwhile, Bortoleto is still in his rookie F1 season. The Brazilian did not have a great start to his season, as he did not score a solitary point after competing in 10 races.
However, this all changed at the Austrian Grand Prix. The 20-year-old qualified inside the top-10 and scored his first points in F1. Since then, he has returned to the top-10 in the next three of the four races that he has finished, showcasing his rapid progress in his maiden F1 campaign.
