F1 News

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris on sim racing in Imola

Verstappen gives Norris some banter: 'He's retired! Old man!'

19 May at 21:00
  • Sandy van Wijngaarden

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris are two drivers with similar interests. Besides being about the same age, the two occasionally spend time together off the track. Sim racing is one of the things Verstappen and Norris do together. After the Imola Grand Prix, the two joked about it together.

Much was made of the fact that in addition to his Formula 1 work, Max Verstappen competed in the Nürburgring 24 Hours this weekend with his sim racing team, Team Redline. In the past, Verstappen and Norris have also raced together online. "You know we are the 24 hours of Spa," joked the three-time world champion. To which Norris said: "We won races together already, so yeah, I've done my bit."

Verstappen and Norris joke together about sim racing

Verstappen then fired the Briton: "He's retired! He’s like, ‘I've done that!’" Norris says he has never tried to have a double schedule like Verstappen, though the Brit does get busy with other things. "I've just never tried. I don't have a simulator in my motor home. I definitely don't do as much as I used to because I kind of play golf. Max hates golf," Norris said. To which Verstappen joked back: "An old man!"

"Well, same," Norris replied. "I've just never tried. I'll be up for it. I stayed up and watched the fight [Fury v Usyk] last night, I never sleep much anyway. I'll just go to those shadow parks. I don't think it would have had the biggest toll, otherwise, he probably wouldn't have done it, he didn't drive too late, he did a couple of stints and he prepared for it and that kind of thing, but at least it's not a physical thing, it's more just mentally it can hurt you a bit, but I probably stayed up later than he did. What time do you sleep?" Verstappen indicated that he still watched the battles after his stints.

This surprised Norris. "I went to bed like, I don’t know, it was 2 a.m. or something, so I didn't get my 10 or 8 hours or whatever it is. I was watching the golf and Indianapolis, so I was doing my bit. I had like four screens going on, I got a full setup, but just not a sim setup." The Briton said he still gamed online with his friends, but that because of the lost time with friends in his youth, he also tries to get out more now.