Red Bull’s Helmut Marko says Max Verstappen has agreed to no longer indulge in late-night sim racing on F1 weekends after he was criticized for burning the candle at both ends in Hungary.
Verstappen's race at the Hungaroring was marred by tension between the Dutchman and his long-standing race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase.
The reigning world champion voiced his frustration repeatedly over the radio, criticizing Red Bull’s strategy and car performance.
Following the race, when asked about the criticism regarding his aggressive radio communication, a testy Verstappen quipped: “They can all f**k off."
The Red Bull charger’s fiery demeanor during the race coincided with reports of him participating on Saturday night in the iRacing virtual Spa 24 Hours with Team Redline and racing until 3am.
But Red Bull team boss Christian Horner dismissed any link between Verstappen’s late night sim activity and his exasperated attitude and radio rants in Sunday’s race.
“He knows what it takes to drive a grand prix car and to win grands prix and be a world champion,” commented Horner.
“And look, as a team, we always work as a team, and whatever discussions of how to improve will always not take place through media.”
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However, in his post-race editorial for Speedweek.com, Marko revealed that Verstappen would no longer dovetail his sim racing with his real world F1 duties on race weekends, or at least not late at night.
“Max Verstappen was rather thin-skinned this weekend, and of course it didn't take long for criticism to arise - no wonder, since he spends half the night playing sim racing,” Marko wrote.
“I have to say that in Imola he didn't go to bed until three in the morning after a sim racing session - and then won the Grand Prix. Max has a different sleep pattern, and he had his seven hours of sleep.
“His late-night sim appearance on the Hungary weekend only came about because a driver in his team had dropped out.
“Nevertheless, we agreed that he would no longer run simulations so late in the future.”
Marko also defended Verstappen’s maneuver against Lewis Hamilton late in the race, when the Dutchman lunged up the inside of the Mercedes driver only for the pair to make contact.
Despite the heavy wheel-to-wheel blow, Verstappen was able to continue to salvage a fifth-place finish at the checkered flag.
“I spoke to Verstappen about this,” said Marko. “Of course, the wheels of his car locked when braking, but he would have made it through the corner.
“So there was no question of him losing control of his car. Max was ahead, but Hamilton turned in, and everyone could see what happened.”
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