Max Verstappen begged F1 interviewer Tom Clarkson to skip a question in the Brazilian Grand Prix press conference after the Dutchman crashed in a virtual race last weekend. Verstappen was spun around at Eau Rouge corner while competing in the Le Mans Virtual Series Six Hours of Spa event.
The Dutchman was tapped by a Ferrari GT car as he was trying to pass around the outside of the corner. The incident left the reigning F1 champion 30 seconds behind the Porsche team but Verstappen still managed to secure second.
Clarkson asked Verstappen about the race ahead of this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix. Clarkson said: “Talking of extra curricular racing activities, while everyone else was resting last weekend you went racing in the virtual six hours of spa. How did that go?”
Verstappen replied: “It was quite eventful to be honest. Can we skip that? It was okay but I had a moment in Eau Rouge.”
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Earlier this year, the Dutchman crashed out of the Le Mans 24 Hours Virtual while his Redline team was leading. Verstappen’s team had built up a lead of almost one minute before he lost control at the Ford Chicane.
The car slammed into the barriers with enough force to destroy his left rear wheel and force the team’s immediate retirement. Verstappen has previously revealed his motivation behind sim racing was to better his skills.
He told CarNext: “It keeps me ready to go, because I’m spending a lot of time also then on the setup. I’m not racing a Formula One car on the simulator, but it’s like GT cars, so it’s also a different technique of driving. I just keep testing myself, and especially these sim drivers… they’re so quick!”
He added: “On the simulator, these guys are the benchmark and I have to push myself to that limit. I like to test myself and improve myself to also learn from them so [in] my downtime, I’m still trying to improve myself, which I think also helps me in real life.”
