Max Verstappen repeats ‘f*** off’ demand as sim racing helps Spa qualifying domination

Max Verstappen is the reigning F1 World Champion

Max Verstappen has once again told his critics to “f*** off” after his work in the Red Bull simulator contributed to his dominance of Belgian Grand Prix qualifying at Spa.

Verstappen was heavily criticised in the aftermath of last weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix after ranting at his Red Bull team over team radio en route to a distant fifth place.

Max Verstappen defends sim-racing sessions after dominant Spa F1 showing

The Dutchman’s frustrating afternoon in Budapest came after he had stayed up late the previous night participating in his hobby of sim racing, with some members of the British media – including David Croft, the Sky F1 commentator – heavily implying that a lack of sleep had contributed to his short temper.

Verstappen responded by telling his critics to “f*** off” after the race in Hungary, with Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton telling media including PlanetF1.com in Belgium that the Red Bull man should “act like a World Champion.”

Verstappen set a comfortable pole position on Saturday at Spa, with his fastest lap in a rain-affected session a massive 0.595 seconds ahead of second-placed Charles Leclerc.

Analysis and data: Belgian Grand Prix qualifying

 Winners and losers from the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix qualifying

 Max Verstappen telemetry data reveals huge gains over McLaren at Spa

However, the reigning World Champion us set to start Sunday’s race from 11th with Verstappen serving a 10-place grid penalty for taking a new engine.

Speaking to Viaplay after the session, Verstappen revealed that his sim-racing exploits came in handy at Spa after he practiced driving on a wet track in Red Bull’s simulator ahead of the race weekend.

And he had another message for people criticising his off-track activities, stating: “Last week I drove in the rain a lot in the simulator here at Spa.

“Being on the sim is not so bad after all, while most people are nagging about that. They can all f*** off! It was a good day.”

Verstappen’s comments came after Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko revealed the team were “overjoyed” with his performance in qualifying with McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri set to start from fourth and fifth respectively.

Marko is hopeful that Verstappen, who overcame grid penalties to win in both 2022 and 2023, can recover from 11th on the grid to threaten the podium places on Sunday.

He told Sky Germany: “Max [was] confident in all sessions. We are overjoyed with this grid position because, surprisingly, the McLaren cars were not so strong in the rain.

“I think we can already set our sights on the podium. ’I think we are well set up. I think we had the necessary grip for the rain, but we will still have the top speed tomorrow to be able to overtake.”

Read next: Daniel Ricciardo v Liam Lawson: Red Bull shoot-out planned at Imola