Max Verstappen showcased why he’s revered in the racing world by clinching not one, but two victories on the same day. The Dutch driver celebrated a win at Formula 1’s Imola Grand Prix and also topped the Nurburgring 24 Hours sim race, all within a hectic schedule filled with driving, PR duties, and engineering at Imola.
Red Bull’s team principal, Christian Horner, was full of praise for Verstappen, calling him a ‘racing machine.’ Verstappen took pole position at Imola on Saturday and then switched gears to his simulator for a three-hour stint in iRacing’s Nurburgring enduro. He woke up early on Sunday to complete another two-hour session, which contributed to his BMW GT3 team’s victory in the event.
Speaking about Verstappen’s dedication, Horner remarked, ‘He is basically a racing machine, so it is quite often he is testing different set-ups in the evening and this kind of thing, so it is not unusual for him to be doing that.’ Verstappen’s determination paid off as he beat McLaren’s Lando Norris to the top spot at Imola.
Despite intense pressure from Norris during the final laps, Verstappen managed to keep his tires at the right temperature and avoided any critical errors, despite being on the edge with three track limit violations. Horner analyzed the race: ‘In the first stint on the medium it felt like we got everything under control. After we changed onto the hard tyre, the first half of the stint was absolutely fine but we started to lose temperature in the tyre and with that performance.’
Verstappen’s teammate, Sergio Perez, didn’t have quite the same fortune, finishing in eighth place after starting 11th on the grid. But the weekend wasn’t smooth sailing for the Red Bull team initially. After struggling with car balance during Friday’s practice, the team performed extensive setup work to get back on track. Horner explained, ‘We did a lot of set-up work on Friday night and into Saturday and managed to move the balance and get the car into a much better window. It was a big dive. That is where you must never underestimate the support that comes from the broader team in the factory, the simulator drivers and credit where credit is due, the essence of the team is being able to respond when things aren’t going well and we managed to turn it around.’
Horner’s final thoughts were reflective of the team’s effort and Verstappen’s exceptional skill, ‘This result on Friday, all our analysis would’ve said ‘no way’. But we managed to turn it around and win the race.’
