Earlier this month, Max Verstappen told Lando Norris he would “never” take part in Formula One’s official esports series, but that doesn’t mean he is ruling out online racing completely.
The Dutch superstar announced on Monday he will be guest appearing in the Australian iRacing Supercars esports series, racing for the Holden Red Bull team.
Verstappen will compete in four races split across two circuits he knows well; Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya, the scene of his first F1 victory in 2016, and iconic Silverstone.
“We always race with Supercars in Melbourne so it’s going to be interesting to see how I get on against all the regular drivers,” Verstappen said. “It’s going to be a challenge. I’ve tried the Supercar now a few times on iRacing and it’s a very tricky car to get right.”
Verstappen also joked that he was excited to race alongside 2016 Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen or “Pastor, as I call him.”
Looking forward to taking on the @Supercars drivers this Wednesday 🎮💪 @shanevg97 pic.twitter.com/A61ybCnxv2
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) April 13, 2020
“I’m looking forward to racing alongside my mate Shane. He’s a top shunter on the sim,” he said. “We race online a lot together so hopefully we can do well for Red Bull and it should be a bit of fun racing against the other V8 drivers as well.”
The next round of the iRacing Supercars series will take place at 10am on Wednesday AEST.