Verstappen: I would say Sim Racing's like 90-95% there

Speaking during a fan Q&A session with his Redline sim racing team, the reigning Formula 1 world champion provided candid insights into his sim racing hobby, and his stellar career and generally shooting the freeze.

A well-known sim racing enthusiast and considered one of the best sim racing drivers in the world, 27-year-old Verstappen was asked about the biggest differences and similarities between sim racing and real-world F1 competition.

Verstappen said: “Of course, the G-forces. In a real car—everything, like accelerating, braking, cornering.

"[In simming] that’s something you don’t feel, especially when I’m driving at home on a static rig, because it’s faster. All these motion rigs are slower. But of course, if you want to try and replicate a little bit of what you feel in real life, then yeah, you buy a motion rig. But I think it’s not really necessary at the moment," he explained.

Despite this, Verstappen believes sim racing is an effective training tool, he added: “In terms of how you work on the setup, how you work out strategies, and as you see now in this race as well—it’s raining, you have to make the right call to be on the right tyres.

"It’s exactly the same as in real life. You’re working off a radar, you feel as well while driving. So for me, I would say it’s like 90-95% there, but that 5% is mainly just that real touch of strapping yourself in the car and then feeling the G-force.”

Sim racing has evolved massively in recent years, with iRacing providing professional sim racing that mimics real life, and is used by anything from aspirant race drivers, karters, amateur and pro drivers including most F1 drivers on the grid today, and Verstappen of course.

But while he was growing up, sim racing was just a game. Verstappen explained how his passion was sparked by being around the sport rather than simply watching it on television or sim racing, he said: “I honestly don’t think it was actually watching F1.

"At the time when I grew up, of course, my Dad [Jos Verstappen] was still in F1 and I joined for test days and some races. I remember actually I was in Malaysia with my Mum and my dad. These kinds of memories stick in your mind.

"Plus, my dad also had a go-karting team at the time, so you just see a lot of racing, and I just wanted to start go-karting. I think that’s where I was like, ‘Yeah, I want to start driving myself.’ Because at that point, it’s not like I wanted to be a Formula 1 driver. At that point, it was like, ‘I want to be a go-kart driver and have fun there.’

“And then, the more serious go-karting became, you start to look at what is the highest that you can achieve, and that’s Formula 1, right? So I think it just went step by step, and when I was like eight, I guess we set the goal to Formula 1," the four-time F1 World Champion recalled.

The conversation turned to pressure in F1 and how he deals with it, Verstappen said: “Experience helps with that. Because you have these kinds of moments already from go-karting where you’re defending on the last lap, and the pressure is the same because you want to win the race.

"Of course, an F1 car handles a bit different, but at the end of the day, you have to be confident in your ability and what you have to do. I’ve practiced a lot when I was a kid as well with my dad, my teammates, and my friends in these kinds of situations, so a lot of prep has gone into it anyway from the start.

“Sometimes it’s different—maybe you’re on old tyres defending and the guy behind has fresher tyres. Or when it’s a bit more equal, it’s a bit easier. Some scenarios can be more difficult," he pointed out.

Finally, asked what advice he would give to his younger self, Verstappen was adamant: “I’ve had this question before, honestly, and I wouldn’t give any advice. At the end of the day, you have to make mistakes in life. You have to learn it sometimes the hard way.

“If you knew everything in advance, I think that would be very boring. It’s almost like when people keep telling you, ‘Don’t do this, don’t do that, you cannot do that when you’re driving.’

“At the end of the day, once you’ve done it, that’s the only time you will change it or learn from it. And that’s exactly what I would say—not too much, actually. Let them live it," ventured Verstappen.

The Dutch ace begins his 12th full season in Formula 1 when he lines up on the grid for the 2025 season-opening Australian Grand Prix where Verstappen embarks on a campaign to win his fifth world title in the top flight.