Lightning Strikes Twice for Max Verstappen as 12 Hours of Sebring Becomes Another Nightmare Experience

Max Verstappen is living a life of parallels at this point. While he dominates Formula 1 in his day job, the 2x champion has now also sworn to take over the sim racing world and become the undisputed world of the virtual racing tracks, too! That being said, his sojourn with sim racing isn’t going down as well as his exploits in a real Formula 1 car. The last time Verstappen was competitively behind the virtual steering wheel was at the 2023 Virtual Le Mans race.

If your memory is serving you right, it was a disaster for the Dutch lion. Leading the race comfortably, he was disconnected multiple times before he rage-quitted on the entire event. Afterwards, he came out and publicly slammed the event, and RFactor 2, the platform on which the race was being held. Surely, he needed some time to cool off. And obviously, lighting doesn’t strike twice, right? To the detriment of Verstappen, the opposite was true. After a brief hiatus, he returned to the sim racing scene with the recent virtual 12 hours of Sebring.

But his race was short-lived. As reported by RacingNews365.com, “The Dutchman started the race in the Team Redline car that he is sharing with 2021 IndyCar champion Alex Palou. But after the contact with another car in the GTB class, he brought it back to the pits and discovered the car was too damaged to continue the race.”

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These two events won’t dissuade him from taking part in more virtual endurance series given his affinity for sim racing. But what about the real deal?

Max Verstappen reveals Le Mans dream after his F1 career

Max Verstappen has dominated the sport of Formula 1. But after conquering the pinnacle of motor racing, what else can excite and inspire the 2x champion? For Verstappen, the aim is quite clear and he has no qualms about it.

He was quoted as saying, “F1 is a lot of fun, and I’m having a lot of success at the moment. But I want to do other things as well. I know my contract runs until 2028. I will be 31 at that time. I’m probably still going to be competitive for a few more years after that.” But where would that be?

As per Motorsport.com, “Asked what racing he would be interested in doing, Verstappen said it would be “mainly endurance”, having previously expressed an interest in entering the 24 Hours of Le Mans.”

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If he takes to Endurance Racing, can Verstappen conquer it all there, too?