Max Verstappen’s Secret to Dominating F1: How Sim Racing Shapes a Champion at Heineken Player 0.0

Alex Harrington | 3 Hours Ago

Heineken US

Max Verstappen’s performance in Formula 1 is undeniable. The Dutchman completed the most dominant season in F1 history in 2023 with a total of 19 wins in a season, and took home his fourth championship trophy this year.

But his passion for racing extends far beyond physically sitting behind the wheel of racing machinery. He has a passion for sim racing that is no secret with him taking part in countless virtual races between the Grands Prix of his career. In May earlier this year, the Red Bull driver not only took the checkered flag at Imola, but followed this up with a virtual iRacing Nurburgring 24 Hours race just 15 minutes after the Grand Prix end. He won that, too.

So what's the secret behind such magnificent performance? Is there a correlation between his sim racing experience and real-world dominance? I was able to discuss this with Max at the GAMERGY gaming festival in Madrid last weekend, where the driver crowned the winner of Heineken's rapidly growing Player 0.0 sim racing championship.

Max Verstappen crowns the champion of Player 0.0 / Heineken US

My first question is the obvious one: can a career in racing begin in a simulator?

“That's what we're trying to stimulate more and more," he tells me as the Player 0.0 drivers start their 5-lap shootout behind us. "Naturally, still kids grow up in go-karting and that's the way forward.

“But I definitely want to try and stimulate the community also in sim racing, [so] that you can become a professional driver.”

Verstappen started his racing career in karting at just 7 years old in 2003 two years after his father, Jos Verstappen, retired from F1. His first three seasons saw him display an unmatched level of dominance, and he quickly moved up to an international level where he continued to dominate. In 2014, aged just 16, he sat in the cockpit of his first Formula car, and as they say, the rest is history.

"Everyone is a little bit different in that aspect as well. Some are a bit more mature at a younger age," he says reflecting on the age of which a racer moves up the rungs of the industry. But a level of talent like Verstappen's - where did it start?

“To be honest, I was already gaming as a kid. It started on a controller when I was four or five years old. Racing on F1 games, rally games, MotoGP games, I did all of it, and I would say around 2008, more or less, simulators really started to be more and more popular,  so that's when I had one as well.

"From there the games have grown massively, and everything has become so much more accurate and precise and that's why I think nowadays simulation is so well made that you can really train someone.”

As expected, there are big differences between a sim race and a real race. G-forces would be the major difference, I assume.

“Yeah, that's the thing most people struggle with naturally, even if they're a good sim racer, when they get in a real car, it's the physicality of it. Plus the awareness that if I hit the wall, it's going to hurt, where in sim racing that doesn't happen. So it's a bit of, you know, these things together."

In January of this year, iRacing, considered the go-to simulator for most professionals, saw almost 16,000 drivers participate in their Daytona 24 event. According to MMO stats, iRacing is estimated to have approximately 17,000 daily plyers, with a total of 9.1 million players playing the game in its lifetime. There's certainly a market for sim racing, but how do you take the next step?

“Well, first of all, you work out, you're going to make sure that you're fit," Max tells me. "That I think is very important because the fitter you are, the less you have to worry about that. So you're focusing more on the driving and then it takes, again, practice. So you have to practice a lot in real life as well at some point.

 "It can start from being on the phone all the way to the first pedal and steering wheel you buy at the local shop. You know, it doesn't need to be expensive, but that's how you start.

"It just depends on how serious do you want to start? You know, I, I started with a controller and then you get more and more passionate about it. You want to become faster, you buy your first steering wheel. There are a lot of brands out there that provide that.

“And then again, you go from a basic setup. If you want to become even better, you go to a little bit more professional [it will] cost a bit more money, but it does make a difference at the end of the day. 

“It's like real life, you need the right equipment to really reach the top. Of course in some series you are bound to a certain product so it's the same for everyone but if it's open and you want the top-end products at the end. But start low-end [and] have fun. See how competitive you can get and if you're just missing those final two, three-tenths, that's where you can then update the gear to become even better. And eventually, you join a team with other drivers who you're measuring with.”

The Heineken Player 0.0 event not only highlighted the growing prominence of sim racing but also its potential as a legitimate pathway to professional motorsport. Verstappen's involvement only proved this further, with him standing as an inspiration for those who want to follow in his footsteps. With the event promoting Heineken's "When You Drive, Never Drink" campaign, Max feels like this is an important event for someone so closely linked to driving.

 "It's very important. And for me also to see so many different countries coming here [at Player 0.0] together. It really shows that it doesn't matter where you're from in the world, anything is possible.

“And that is something that also [in] real life, it's only a small portion of countries that make it to the top. And I really feel like at least we're trying to create an opportunity for everyone out there.”

As the confetti settled and Jernej Dovžan was crowned champion by the Red Bull driver himself, the message is clear: sim racing isn’t just a game—it’s a stepping stone. And with champions like Verstappen lending their voice, the future of Player 0.0 and sim racing as a whole looks brighter than ever.