Real world or virtual… I want to win it all, says Max Verstappen as the world champion credits e-sports for making Formula One more accessible

• F1 star Max Verstappen has won the last four World Drivers’ Championships
• The 27-year-old is naturally also pretty good when it comes to racing simulations
• Verstappen told Mail Sport: ‘I like to win in real life but also in the virtual world’

Less than 24 hours after Max Verstappen collects his F1 trophy in Rwanda, the four-time Formula One world champion is sat with Mail Sport in the back of a convention centre in Madrid.

A few metres away, in a bespoke Heineken Player 0.0 arena at the GAMERGY gaming festival, 18 elite sim racers from around the world are taking part in a virtual race around the Zandvoort racetrack to determine the Player 0.0 Global Champion.

Much has been documented about Verstappen’s own love for sim racing, with a simulator in his motorhome. In May, he used it to win two races in 24 hours, winning the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola for Red Bull and the virtual Nurburgring 24 hours for Team Redline, alongside a team of four.

‘He is basically a racing machine so it is not unusual for him to be doing that,’ said Red Bull boss, Christian Horner.

Two months later, Verstappen was reportedly told to pull the plug on late-night gaming sessions during race weekends after he stuttered to a fifth-place finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix though the Dutchman insisted there was nothing to worry about. So is it simply a hobby or part of his routine?

‘Honestly, it keeps me sharp,’ Verstappen tells Mail Sport. ‘In my opinion, you’re doing the same thing as F1. Of course, hitting the wall doesn’t hurt but everything else in terms of overtaking, defending, pit stops, strategy and working on setup – there are so many similarities with sim racing. Naturally, I like to win in real life but also in the virtual world,’ the 27-year-old adds.

It is no secret that Formula One world champion Max Vertstappen is a big fan of e-sports

Verstappen attended a GAMERGY event in Madrid to see the Heineken Player 0.0 Global Final

There is an acceptance that it will never stimulate the senses in the exact same way but besides that, Verstappen sees it as crucial to his routine. He was even racing at 4am ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix earlier this year and there are plenty of tales on social media of people racing against him virtually.

It brings to mind stories of people playing chess online with Mohamed Salah, who admits that he’s addicted and plays regularly on Chess.com.

For Verstappen, who has brought plenty of attention to the niche esport through his sim-racing exploits, it offers an opportunity too to make motorsport more accessible. It says something that he is determined to make the journey from Kigali directly to this event in particular.

‘If you look at the real racing world, it’s mainly dominated by a few countries,’ says Verstappen. ‘With a competition like this, it doesn’t matter where you’re from in the world. Anything is possible. That’s why it’s great to see all these countries represented. It gives you a chance to be competitive from wherever you are in the world’ he adds.

All of the drivers in Madrid are from different countries and the majority of people at this video game and esports festival are young adults . Over two thirds of the esports audience is made up by those young adults aged, while there are pop-up activations from organisations like Heineken (promoting their non-alcoholic lager) and LaLiga to skincare brands like Garnier and CeraVe. A day earlier, both Carlos Puyol and Luis Figo played in a football game against two prominent Twitch streamers at the event – with half played virtually on EA Sports FC 25 and half on an actual football pitch.

Verstappen actively sees sim racing as a means of discovering the next motorsport talent too, with the Player 0.0 contest using a bespoke mobile game as an entry point for the competition.

‘That’s ultimately the target (to find the next motorsport talent). That’s what we’re all working on together and I really hope that in the future something positive comes out of it,’ Verstappen insists.

Such is his zeal for racing that he is keen to know about each of the personal drivers, with Slovenian Jernej Dovzan coming out on top.

Verstappen pictured (second from right) posing for a photograph with the finalists in Madrid

For Verstappen, now a four-time world Champion and having just finished his 10th season in F1, there is still very much a belief that so much more is to be won whether it is in person or on a screen.

His tally of 63 race wins is still 42 behind Lewis Hamilton on 105 and he needs to win three more world titles to equal Hamilton and Michael Schumacher on seven championships, but he stresses that more than anything, it’s a love for the sport that keeps him motivated.

‘The enjoyment keeps me going. I truly enjoy what I’m doing. Of course, I’m happy with the races we are winning (at Red Bull) and the championships but at the end of the day, what needs to motivate you is that you can look in the mirror and tell yourself that you’re still giving it 100 per cent and that you’re enjoying what you’re doing, Verstappen says.

For as long as that love remains, the man who seems like he eats, sleeps and breathes racing will race whenever and wherever he can.

Max Verstappen was speaking at the Heineken Player 0.0 arena at the GAMERGY gaming festival.