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Max Verstappen missed pole position in the 24 hours of Le Mans virtual sim race by 0.002 seconds. The Dutchman reacted strongly to the missed win, lightly hitting his sim racing wheel in disappointment. Watch the clip below:
The Dutchman is racing in the LMP division of the elite sim racing event, representing Team Redline, and was beaten to the line by Jeffrey Rietveld, who races for Realteam.
Max Verstappen is not the only high-profile driver to join the virtual event. The Alpine Esports team is captained by (non-driving) former F1 and FIA WEC world champion Fernando Alonso. Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya is taking part in the prestigious event alongside his son Sebastian. 2021 IndyCar champion Alex Palou is also racing with Team Fordzilla, with hopes of bringing his on-track experience to the sim.
The sim game used for the event is the ever-popular rFactor2.
Pro drivers are joined by Esports elites such as two-time F1 Esports champion Jarno Opmeer - racing for the Mercedes Esports team - and Jimmy Broadbent, an immensely popular Esports streamer.
The race is held in a virtual version of the iconic Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, which has been the long-time venue for the event in real-life. The time difference of only 0.002 seconds between the top two on a circuit with a length of 13.62 seconds is astounding, as usually the difference between qualifying times between top drivers is high.
Max Verstappen claims sim racing has real life benefits
Aside from being an off-season hobby for the Dutchman, Max Verstappen claims sim racing has helped him set up his real-life race cars. In an interview with personal sponsor CarNext, the reigning world champion spoke about his hobby when he isn't battling with the likes of Lewis Hamilton:
"It keeps me ready to go, because I'm spending a lot of time also then on the setup. I'm not racing a Formula 1 car on the simulator, but it's like GT cars, so it's also a different technique of driving. I just keep testing myself, and especially these sim drivers... they're so quick!"
The driver then elaborated on the immense speed sim racers have despite having no on-track experience. He said:
"It's very interesting to see them drive because they have no real experience of a car but, somehow, when you look at how they're braking, how they're controlling, it is how it should be.It's very interesting for me to then compare myself to them, because they're naturally quick on the sim, I'm naturally quick in real life. For me, that's another motivation, because I know that I'm confident that when I want to jump in a real car, I'll be quick."
Max Verstappen is in a good position to win the event, but more-experienced sim racers such as Jarno Opmeer and Bono Huis stand a chance of stripping the Dutchman of his next win.
