Max Verstappen claims he did not ask for ‘permission’ from Red Bull to participate in virtual 24 hours of Nürburgring

Max Verstappen has been a promoter of sim racing worldwide.

Max Verstappen claims he did not ask for ‘permission’ from Red Bull to participate in virtual 24 hours of Nürburgring

Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)

Max Verstappen has been dominating F1 ever since winning his first world championship in 2021. On the other hand, the Dutchman has also been leading from the front for Redline racing in the simulation world. Subsequently, he announced that he would be racing in the 24 hours of Nürburgring this weekend, and claimed that he did not ask for permission from Red Bull as the Imola GP would be held just hours after the conclusion of the sim race.

Max Verstappen has amassed a total of 58 wins in his decade-long F1 career. Moreover, in the last 50 GP starts, he has won a staggering 38 races. Such high statistics convey his high ability to extract every bit of performance from the machinery that he is provided. The Red Bull driver also recently conveyed his eagerness to try different forms of motorsports. He launched his sim racing team, Red Line Racing in 2022.

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As mentioned earlier, the 26-year-old would be driving for his sim racing team during the Imola GP weekend. This raised questions regarding the schedule of his stints as the F1 race would happen on the same day as the sim race.

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I didn’t ask permission to participate, I’m a professional and I know how to manage my days, everyone is free to do what they prefer on Saturday evening.

Max Verstappen said in an interview with de Telegraaf

However, the reigning champion was not very intrigued with the possibility of the two schedules clashing. He claimed that he did not ask for permission from the Austrian squad and asserted that he is a professional racing driver who knows how to manage his responsibilities.

Max Verstappen is anticipating blame if something goes wrong in Imola

With Verstappen’s strong stance of managing his commitments, another possibility of his race getting affected by the strange schedule lurks in the background. Moreover, if an unfortunate incident does happen during the main Imola race, the 26-year-old could be on the receiving end of condemnation by the F1 experts and fans alike.

Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)

However, Verstappen seemed unbothered about being bombarded with any blame.

Am I ready for the criticism that will come if something goes wrong in F1? Surely everyone will blame this decision of mine, but I don't care, the important thing is to go to bed early to be well rested on Sunday.
Max Verstappen said in an interview with de Telegraaf

Max Verstappen claimed that he is anticipating being blamed for his decision to race in the 24-hour virtual race if anything goes wrong during the Emilia-Romagna GP. However, he also made it known that he would not care about such allegations and would rather focus on his sleep schedule ahead of the main race on Sunday.

Despite his relaxed demeanor, a serious threat hangs on Red Bull’s neck as the RB20 was nowhere near the top of the timing table during the Imola FP1 session. Thus, with the strong pace of McLaren, the Red Bull and Ferrari fans could have an interesting race on their hands.

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