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Max Verstappen adds racing sim to private jet

Formula 1 World Champion takes ‘flying lap’ a bit too literal
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Max Verstappen, two-time Formula 1 World Champion, truly is the embodiment of a hardcore gamer who just also happens to be super rich.

The Dutchman is said to casually open FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) packs shortly before racing sessions and is known for his love of sim racing – because driving the fastest race cars on the planet on actual tracks is not enough. He’s also familiar with officially licensed F1 games such as F1 Manager 2022, which he criticized for giving his lead engineer too low a rating.

Recently, Verstappen participated in the virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans event and dished out harsh criticism against the organizers for various problems with the race, calling it a “clown show” among other things. He’s as serious about his hobby as he is about actual racing. While he reportedly uninstalled the game used during this event, he’s not given up on sim racing in general – far from it, in fact.

According to Helmut Marko, one of the leading figures at Verstappen’s F1 team Red Bull Racing, the reigning champion actually installed a new simulator on his private jet after the disappointing event. Speaking to German TV channel SPORT1, Marko explained that “Verstappen needs this distraction.”

“In any case”, the Austrian former F1 driver continued, “it hasn’t hurt him so far when you look at his two world championships.” True enough.

Verstappen bought the Dassault Falcon 900EX from British businessman Richard Branson in 2020. Able to reach top speeds of 900 km per hour (around 560 mph), Verstappen can truly claim to be the fastest gamer in the world when he uses his on-board simulator.