“Just a misunderstanding” says Max Verstappen clears up crazy plane rumour doing the rounds ahead of the RB19 2023 Formula 1 car launch in New York. Will Max Verstappen be travelling to the races by private jet in the 2023 Formula One season and training in his own on-board racing simulator?
The news was making the rounds ahead of Red Bull’s season opener in New York. But now the two-time world champion has clarified that the news is not true at all.
The rumour was spread by Red Bull Motorsport Consultant Helmut Marko, who spoke to Sport1 and said: “He went to the trouble of having “He has even had his private plane converted so that he can drive a simulator in the air”.
Marko misunderstands
“But it’s also a good thing,” Marko continued, “because Max needs this distraction. It certainly hasn’t done him any harm with his two titles…” said Marko in an apparent case of what could be described as a ‘senior moment’.
According to Verstappen, however, the story was a “misunderstanding”, as he clarified on Friday. He had told Marko that he was setting up a new motorhome for the trips around Europe and that he was having a simulator installed “so that I can continue driving when I get back in the evening,” Verstappen said.
The Dutchman is known to be a big fan of virtual racing and regularly competes in online championships. “I like it, it’s my hobby and it keeps you on your toes,” says the Red Bull driver.
“And then in the evenings, maybe even during a Formula 1 weekend, I could sit in the simulator for two or three hours,” he says.
Marko’s story “a bit absurd.”
Helmut Marko just got it wrong and said aeroplane. “But I’m not going to put a simulator in my plane,” laughs Verstappen.
“I think it would be a bit absurd.”
While it would be pretty cool to have your own simulator in your private jet, “I don’t think there would be much space left”.
The 25-year-old travels in a Dassault Falcon 900EX, which he bought from British billionaire Richard Branson in late 2020. The aircraft is 15 years old and has been customised with Verstappen’s logo and design.
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