Max Verstappen alters stance on late-night sim racing before F1 races after Hungary

Helmut Marko has said Max Verstappen has agreed he won't sim race late at night after criticism emerged during the F1 Hungarian Grand Prix.

Verstappen was in action for Team Redline during the 24 Hours of Spa, racing up until 3am in the morning.

He helped guide his team to another victory, but the same didn’t happen on-track in F1.

Verstappen delivered an underwhelming performance with two botched overtake attempts on Lewis Hamilton.

The Dutchman was also incredibly frustrated over team radio, ranting about strategy and the handling of the car.

Nico Rosberg and Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft suggested that Verstappen’s late night - and thus lack of sleep - wouldn’t have helped his performance.

However, Marko played it down after the race, citing the fact that Verstappen stayed up as late during the Imola weekend but pulled off a masterclass to beat Lando Norris.

Marko has revealed that they have agreed with Verstappen he won’t race “so late anymore”.

“Max Verstappen was rather thin-skinned this weekend, and of course it didn’t take long for criticism to arise – no wonder, since he spends half the night playing sim racing,” Marko said to SpeedWeek.

“I have to point out that at Imola, after a simracing session, he only went to bed at three o’clock in the morning – and then won the grand prix. Max has a different sleep rhythm, and he got his seven hours of sleep.

“His late-night sim session on the Hungary weekend only happened because one of his team’s drivers dropped out. Nonetheless, we have agreed that in future he won’t do simulations so late anymore.”

Heading into this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix - a race Verstappen has won on three consecutive occasions, he sits 76 points ahead of Norris.

The Dutchman could be set to start lower down on the grid though as Red Bull are forced into a possible engine change.