F1 News: Helmut Marko Reveals New Agreement With Max Verstappen On Late-Night Sim Racing

Saajan Jogia | Jul 31, 2024

Oct 23, 2022; Austin, Texas, USA; Helmut Marko (left) and Red Bull Racing Limited driver Max Verstappen (right) of Team Netherlands celebrate winning the U.S. Grand Prix F1 race at Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Helmut Marko has reached a new agreement with Max Verstappen on his sim racing ban, suggesting that a midnight deadline was set for the Dutchman, beyond which he won't be allowed to engage in sim racing. This revised arrangement comes from Red Bull's senior advisor, just days after the championship leader expressed his desire for freedom over his free time.

The subject of Verstappen's late-night sim racing adventures surfaced after he exhibited considerable frustration and annoyance with his team over the radio during the Hungarian Grand Prix. Throughout the race, he frequently cursed at his car and criticized the team's strategy to his race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase.

After it came to be known that Verstappen had been up until 3 am the previous night to race in the iRacing Spa 24 Hours, Sky F1 commentator David Croft attributed Verstappen's surly mood and frequent outbursts to his late-night sim racing activities. Despite finishing fifth on the day, Verstappen's behavior was a focal point.

The response from the Red Bull garage came from Marko, who assured after a discussion that the three-time world champion wouldn't be racing on sims so late into the night. However, Verstappen wasn't taking that lightly. In the build-up to the Belgian GP, he told PlanetF1.com that he does not prefer being instructed about his private time activities. He said:

“We talked about it.

“There is no other sim race coming up anyway, so no one needs to worry about that.

“So no, it’s not that I have a ban or whatever. I also don’t need to tell them what they do in their private time and during the weekends, and that’s the same to me.

“Racing till 3am is not something new and, for me, it’s something very important in my life.”

Responding to his comments, Marko has revealed a fresh deadline for Verstappen, which is said to have been agreed upon by the Red Bull driver. He told Sky Deutschland, as quoted by PlanetF1.com:

“We have agreed that in the future he will not drive well past 00:00, even though he has a completely different rhythm of life.

“But still, you have to avoid things like this that are understandably attacked in public.”