Max Verstappen addresses unusual fear that could derail his Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
Max Verstappen secured pole position for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, but followed it up with some interesting activities.
Max Verstappen brushed off fears that he hadn't got enough sleep prior to the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, ensuring Sky Sports F1 that he had managed to get seven hours under his belt.
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The three-time world champion celebrated his pole position for the Emilia Romagna GP by staying up late to participate in the Nurburgring 24 Hours sim race on the iRacing platform.
Verstappen was taking part with Team Redline, the sim racing team he drives for on stream. This participation was possible due to a new simulator rig purchase, meaning the Dutchman will now be followed across the European races by his equipment.
Despite staying up late to complete his stint, Verstappen made it clear that he got enough rest under his belt. "Yeah, enough!" he told Sky Sports F1. "I'd say enough.
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"About seven hours. Of course, I would prefer to sleep a little bit more, but seven hours on a race day is absolutely fine. Just looking forward to racing now."
He later elaborated: "The stints were good. We're still leading as well, so the race isn't done yet. It's still like one hour, 45 [minutes] to go, so my team-mates are driving at the moment.
"I'm trying to follow here and there, but it's a lot of fun, you know? Whenever I can, I try to race and this one worked out. It's in Europe, I can bring my own simulator, so it helps!"
Verstappen addressed the concerns about his participation ahead of the weekend in Imola. "It's a 24-hour race and I think there are four of us on the car. But of course, I don't have a lot of time, Saturday night and Sunday morning," he explained.
"[I have] between two and four hours, if I'm going to do it. It depends a bit, how it works out with the times. You do have to go to bed on time and get your hours of sleep, of course, to start the Sunday well rested.
"You can't decide for everyone what they do on a Saturday night. People can go out for dinner, do crazy things... It's in my free time and I think I'm professional enough to see for myself what's OK and what's not OK."
