Toro Rosso rookie Max Verstappen says he has been using gaming in order to perfect his overtaking skills, which allowed him to pull off a series of eye-catching manoeuvres over the last couple of grands prix.
The 17-year-old joined top simracing squad Redline in late July and immediately set about training for Spa-Francorchamps and Monza.
Starting from the back of the grid at both venues, Verstappen drove two fine recovery races, which included a pair of ballsy passes around the outside of Sauber’s Felipe Nasr. The first move came at the ultra-fast Blanchimont left-hander in Belgium, while the second one took place at the first chicane of the Italian track.
“[Simracing] is always good because you know how much space you have,” said Verstappen.
“Also, sometimes you go a bit too far and you know that you can't do it. I think it helps me. I mean I did it for Spa and I did it again for Monza and two times it worked on the real track.
“The overtake I did on Nasr, I did exactly the same in the sim again.”
Should you need any evidence, here is a video of the Dutch teenager perfecting his craft in the virtual world.
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